‘Sunderland have alarm bells ringing over Cirkin’ as medical booked in
Dennis Cirkin’s future at Sunderland has been up in the air over the last few weeks.
The left-back was excellent for Regis Le Bris’ side as they secured promotion from the Championship last term, but that has prompted fears that he could be in line to leave before he can even make a top-flight appearance for the club.
Sunderland have been facing interest in Cirkin from Tottenham recently, with the North London outfit keen to bring their former academy graduate back to his boyhood club.
The 23-year-old will be crucial to the Black Cats’ survival chances, but there will now be renewed fear that he could be about to depart.
Tottenham to swoop for Cirkin after missing out on Walker-Peters
Sunderland will be desperate to tie Cirkin down to a new contract, with the defender potentially able to depart the Wearsiders for free at the end of the upcoming campaign.
However, Tottenham’s interest is a cause for major concern, especially since Thomas Frank’s side can now offer Champions League football to any prospective signings.
It is also understood that Spurs’ interest in the Mackems’ star centres around their qualification for European football’s premier club competition.
The Lilywhites had identified Cirkin and Kyle Walker-Peters as possible options to boost their quota of locally-trained players to register in their Champions League squad, according to Football London (20 June).
Walker-Peters is now set to undergo a medical on Monday (14 July) ahead of a move to Besiktas, according to Milliyet, and with him now off the table as an option for Spurs, alarm bells must be ringing at Sunderland.
Cirkin will now surely stand as Tottenham’s primary option to ensure they are to satisfy the Champions League’s registration restrictions.
Sunderland may have to sell Cirkin
It is thought that Sunderland could potentially net a fee of around £20million for Cirkin, and although he is arguably too important for them to lose, it may be hard for them to turn down a potential sale.
| Season | Apps | Goals | Assists |
| 2024/25 | 39 | 3 | 2 |
| 2023/24 | 8 | – | 1 |
| 2022/23 | 28 | 5 | 1 |
| 2022/21 | 41 | – | 2 |
| Total | 116 | 8 | 6 |
The North East outfit must seek assurances from the left-back as to whether he has any intention of signing a new deal, and if he indicates that he isn’t interested at present, then Sunderland could easily be tempted by the money.
They have already spent a significant amount this summer, and the opportunity to potentially recoup £20m on a player who they could otherwise lose for nothing could prove too good to turn down.
Le Bris and Co. will be hoping it doesn’t come to that, but they will surely back their ability to land a capable replacement if needs be.
Sign up for the Mackem News WhatsApp channel and turn on notifications to have all the latest, breaking Sunderland AFC news sent straight to your phone.