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Several Sunderland players have been outstanding this Championship season during their Premier League promotion push.
With the Championship campaign reaching its climax, Sunderland are perhaps the side with the least to play for going into the final four league fixtures.
Regis Le Bris’ side secured a play-off place with five games to spare following their 0-0 draw at Norwich last week. However, the title-chasing trio of Leeds United, Burnley and Sheffield United remain out of Sunderland’s crosshairs, boding too much quality in depth to contend with over the campaign.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  LeedsLeeds | 42 | 25 | 13 | 4 | 82 | 29 | 53 | 88 |
| 2 |  BurnleyBurnley | 42 | 24 | 16 | 2 | 57 | 13 | 44 | 88 |
| 3 |  Sheff UtdSheffield Utd | 42 | 26 | 7 | 9 | 57 | 33 | 24 | 83 |
| 4 |  SunderlandSunderland | 42 | 21 | 13 | 8 | 57 | 38 | 19 | 76 |
The Championship run-in continues on Good Friday with a crunch round of clashes which will be imperative to the final standings come May, with relegation, play-off and automatic promotion places still undecided.
Aside from the table, another matter yet to be decided is the 2024/25 Championship Player of the Season award, which has bared witnessed to a glaring Sunderland omission.
Trai Hume snubbed by EFL for Player of Season nomination
The EFL shortlisted Burnley keeper James Trafford, Blades midfielder Gustavo Hamer and Leeds winger Dan James for the top individual prize, at the behest of a Sunderland star’s inclusion.
Full-back Trai Hume has been one of Sunderland’s best, and most consistent, performers throughout the course of their promotion push this season.
Sunderland fans raved over Hume’s display against Millwall in which the Northern Ireland international scored the match-winner with an emphatic volley.
Hume has deputised on the left side of Sunderland’s defence of late, given injury to Dennis Cirkin and has been equally impressive.
Hume’s stellar season has culminated in an outstanding purple patch in their recent run, beating Championship rivals to the highest rating over the season, outlining his consistent quality.
| Key statistic | Trai Hume’s stats this season |
| Games played | 41 |
| Goals | 3 |
| Assists | 6 |
| Yellow cards | 11 |
| Minutes played | 3,623 |
Consistency is the adjective best suited to describe the 23-year-old’s campaign.
Hume’s teammate Wilson Isidor has been dubbed as one of the ‘best signings’ made in recent Championship history, but his campaign has been blighted by inconsistent output.
Isidor took the second tier by storm, scoring 12 goals in the first half of the season, but has failed to find the net in his last nine outings. An erratic season for the striker who was slammed by Sunderland fans for his Swansea outing.
In contrast, Hume is the polar opposite. The full-back has produced moments of magic himself, akin to his recent stunning free-kick against West Brom, but also fails to ever dip below a solid 7/10 rating. Sunderland’s Mr. Dependable this season.
Following his man-of-the-match display against Millwall, as per the Northern Echo, Le Bris said of Hume: “It was a great goal and he was consistent again. He always plays at a very impressive level. He can pick up different positions, he is very important to us. And if he scores, it’s even better.
“He’s a warrior. He’s a very strong character. He always wants to play. These kinds of players are very important because they are always consistent and good from a football perspective.
“But his mindset is very strong and he shows the importance of consistency.”
His “warrior” mentality has been evident across the campaign, with Hume’s tough-tackling trademark pocketing Championship winger’s all season.
As per FBref, Hume has completed an average of 2.92 tackles per 90′ and won 2.29 aerial duels per 90′, putting him in the top drawer of Championship full-backs.
“Consistency”, quality, and effectiveness in both boxes made all the more impressive the fact that Sunderland shelled out only £200k for him three years ago. How does someone of Hume’s ilk miss out on a nomination?
Championship also snub Ao Tanaka for Player of Season nomination
Another glaring omission from the Player of the Season was that of Leeds star Ao Tanaka as fans favoured him for the prestigious award.
Tanaka has been oustanding this season under Daniel Farke, playing a pivotal role in his side’s Championship title battle, notching six goal contributions in 39 appearances. Tanaka, much like Hume, has been one of the Championship’s most consistent performers throughout the campaign.
Clarets keeper Trafford, however, pips both Hume and Tanaka for the remarkable levels he’s maintained over the season. Trafford is destined to play for England, and has proven a thorn in Sunderland’s side this season after he dramatically saved two injury-time Isidor penalties to ensure the spoils were shared against the Black Cats.
Trafford has not only been almost insurmountable for Sunderland, but the youngster has been so for every second tier side this season, proving imperative to Burnley’s title charge after keeping an unheard of 29 clean sheets.
It’ll pain Sunderland supporters to admit it after his time-wasting antics on that infamous night at Turf Moor, but the Burnley shot-stopper surely deserves to beat both Hamer and James to the illustrious accolade.