Neil can land Doyle 2.0 as SAFC eye move for £2.7m-rated wiz who "never loses control" - opinion

Sunderland saw a number of players join the Wearside club during the previous summer and winter transfer windows as the Black Cats made their way back to the Championship.

One figure, in particular, that played a rather significant part in the previous campaign having been brought in on loan last summer was Callum Doyle.

After joining on a season-long loan from Manchester City’s U23 squad, the centre-back went on to make 44 appearances for Sunderland across all competitions, chipping in with one goal and three assists.

In his 36 league appearances prior to the play-offs, the 18-year-old ended the campaign with more interceptions (48) than any other player in Alex Neil’s squad, as well as the second-highest number of tackles won (40).

This shows just how effective he was for the team at the back and how useful he was in terms of seeing the club get back to the Championship.

It also proves just how beneficial it can be to sign young players on loan from other clubs in England, giving them the chance to shine in the lower divisions.

Now that the Black Cats have their upcoming Championship campaign ahead of them, the club now has the chance, before the season kicks off, to bring in what could be their next version of Doyle.

Last month, it was reported that Sunderland are one of the club’s interested in securing a loan deal for Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite.

After joining the Merseyside club back in the 2020 January transfer window, the centre-back had a loan spell in the Championship with Blackburn Rovers for a few months in 2021.

In ten league appearances for Rovers, the £2.7m-rated Englishman ended the campaign with 26 interceptions, 13 successful tackles, as well as an average of 2.8 clearances per game.

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