The winds of change are blowing at Sunderland once again.
Another end-of-season detox, more reflections on the campaign that’s just finished and on Tuesday evening, an emotional farewell statement from Dennis Cirkin, confirming his Wearside exit.
The long-serving left back’s final bow hardly came as a surprise following a 2025/2026 season during which he found game time hard to come by but never let anyone down when called upon, and although I do believe he has the potential to become a Premier League regular, I’m also 100% certain that despite his somewhat frustrating injury record, he’d be an excellent addition to any Championship club’s squad.
Cirkin’s imminent exit holds both practical and symbolic value — practical because we’ll be bidding farewell to a talented player, with the club almost certainly dipping into the transfer market in order to sign a deputy for the brilliant Reinildo ahead of 2026/2027, and symbolic because it means that another one of Sunderland’s Wembley class of 2022 will no longer be wearing a red and white shirt.
With Dan Neil and Anthony Patterson seemingly bound for pastures new this summer and former favourites Elliot Embleton, Alex Pritchard, Lynden Gooch, Danny Batth, Patrick Roberts, Bailey Wright, Jack Clarke and Ross Stewart all long gone, the players at the heart of those memorable days under Alex Neil and the gritty playoff triumph that ended four years of lower-league exile are passing into recent club history, their places taken by a new breed of red and white favourites.
The last men standing? Trai Hume (who didn’t feature in the playoff final against Wycombe) and Luke O’Nien. Two stoic, highly driven footballers who refused to listen to those that claimed they couldn’t make the step up and believed they’d be exposed at the very highest level.
However, that theory was disproven last season. The honour of being the only Sunderland player to appear in all thirty eight league games? Hume’s.
A journey from League One to the uplands of Europa League football? O’Nien’s got the starring role in that particular story and his lap of honour following the final-day victory over Chelsea (during which both players combined for the opening goal) was the least he deserved.
The rate of progress at Sunderland in recent years (albeit with a handful of sharp and occasionally unpleasant bumps in the road) has often been dizzying and like the most epic Hollywood production, you really need to take a step back and view it in widescreen in order to fully appreciate it.
Of those that did move on following the Wembley success in 2022, it’s fair to say that many have endured mixed fortunes.
Clarke is currently preparing for another crack at the top flight with Ipswich and Stewart is in America for the World Cup, with his Southampton side embroiled in the fallout from ‘Spygate’, yet amid the occasional muttering about “sideways moves”, financial necessity often dictated players’ futures in the years that followed our elevation back to the second tier, and with the club currently in a better place than its been for decades, all decisions have ultimately been vindicated.
The process of evolution at any football club is often tough to witness.
I daresay it’s even tougher to experience if you’re the player that happens to be moving on and whom, in Cirkin’s case, clearly enjoyed his time at the Stadium of Light. He played a major role during his time here, with plenty of memorable individual moments and goals, and a wholehearted approach that often belied his occasional physical fragility.
If we pick up a decent fee for Patterson this summer and if Neil and Cirkin can find clubs at which their undoubted talent can flourish, the circle is squared.
They weren’t obliged to sign new deals if they didn’t find the terms agreeable, and those negotiating on behalf of the club were well within their rights to draw the line somewhere. That’s the name of the game. Sometimes the cards fall favourably and sometimes a parting of the ways is the correct course of action — and time will tell how it pans out for the players I’ve mentioned.
As for Hume and O’Nien, they should both be retained for next season after proving they most certainly have what it takes to compete at this level. The demands of European football will stretch the squad but having them both on hand will be hugely important, and Régis Le Bris clearly appreciates the roles they’ve played since his arrival in 2024.
At the moment, it feels as though we’re still coming back down to Earth following an unforgettable season, with everyone looking to the future with excitement and the hope that even better days may lie ahead.
In order to make that happen, there’ll doubtless be plenty of decisions to be made regarding the playing squad — not all of which will be popular — but the “banter years” are a fading memory and we’re now a serious football club once more, owned and operated by serious individuals with high standards and impressive aspirations.
They’ll understand the scale of the challenge, and the steps they take should reflect that. It’s a huge task, but also a wonderful opportunity to ensure Sunderland AFC continues on its current trajectory.
