Sunderland have plenty of room to add to their Championship squad if they choose to do so. The Black Cats have named 17 players in their first team list, confirmed by the EFL this week.
Championship clubs are limited to naming 25 senior players in their squad, with the list published on the English Football League website this week showing the Black Cats have left EIGHT spots available.
This is largely due to the fact that Sunderland have a young squad, as players under the age of 21 do not have to be registered in the 25-man list. So for the Black Cats, that means the likes of Jobe Bellingham, Abdoullah Ba, Jenson Seelt, Jewison Bennette, Hemir Semedo and Nectar Triantis can be included on the U21 list.
After bringing 11 players to the club over the summer transfer window, head coach Tony Mowbray insists he is happy to work with the club’s model of signing exciting young talent.
“The model? Stick to the plan, Tony? I’ve heard it so many times,” he said after last week’s win over Southampton and the end of the transfer window. “Yet my experience tells me we need to do this, we need to do that. But I’m not fighting them.
“I genuinely don’t storm into Kristjaan’s (Speakman) office go ‘what’s going on?’ I’m genuinely calm enough these days to say ‘let’s coach these kids, let’s get on with it’, and they are reacting well.
“The model…I sit here and say let’s keep going. Somewhere down the line, if we lose three or four on the bounce, I will say ‘what do you want me to do? These are young boys, inexperienced, and the crowd might turn against them a little bit and there are a few moans and groans’.
“The model is the model, and at this moment days like today are great and we will keep working with young players and try to give them license to show their flair and individuality, and tell them to be brave. At some stage, I will be sitting here trying to defend them because it is not every game that is going to be like this. The model is good, though. Sign young players, and they have to be good.”
Sunderland 2023-24 EFL senior squad
- 1 Alese, Ajibola Joshua Odunayo
- 2 Ballard, Daniel George
- 3 Bishop, Nathan James
- 4 Burstow, Mason
- 5 Cirkin, Dennis
- 6 Clarke, Jack Raymond
- 7 Dack, Bradley Paul
- 8 Ekwah Elimby, Pierre-Emmanuel Modi
- 9 Evans, Corry John
- 10 Huggins, Niall Joseph
- 11 Hume, Trai
- 12 Matete, Jay
- 13 Neil, Daniel James
- 14 O’Nien, Luke Terry
- 15 Patterson, Anthony William
- 16 Pritchard, Alex David
- 17 Roberts, Patrick John Joseph
Sunderland Under 21 contract players
- 1 Ba, Abdoullah Mustapha
- 2 Bainbridge, Oliver James
- 3 Bellingham, Jobe Samuel Patrick
- 4 Bennette Villegas, Jewison Francisco
- 5 Burke, Marshall Aaron
- 6 Chiabi, Mweembe Thomas Dimba
- 7 Crompton, Ben Robert
- 8 Fieldson, Henry Boyd
- 9 Gardiner, Harry Jay
- 10 Johnson, Zak Robert
- 11 Jones, Harrison Martin
- 12 Kelly, Caden Christopher
- 13 Mayenda Dossou, Eliezer
- 14 Middlemas, Ben
- 15 Moore, Ethan Anthony
- 16 Pye, Connor Albert Robert
- 17 Richardson, Adam Lee
- 18 Ryder, Joseph Philip
- 19 Seelt, Jenson Danluca
- 20 Silva Semedo, Luis Hemir
- 21 Spellman, Michael Dean Emery
- 22 Taylor, Ellis James
- 23 Thompson, Max
- 24 Triantis, Nectarios
- 25 Tutierov, Timur
- 26 Waters, Jake Robert
- 27 Watson, Thomas
- 28 Wilson, Callum Ray