Burnley
Blackburn Rovers
Coventry City
Derby County
Leeds United
Luton Town
Middlesbrough
Millwall
Norwich City
Portsmouth
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield United
QPR
Long-standing Sunderland transfer target looks set to leave Premier League club and manager’s latest comments could open door for his move this summer.
Sunderland have secured a place in the Championship play-offs, with a handful of games to go, as Regis Le Bris’ side are set to finish in fourth.
The Black Cats’ campaign will be defined in the post-regular season, with the summer transfer window poised to be a turbulent one on Wearside.
If Le Bris’ side fail to earn promotion or not, they will be inundated with offers this summer for some of their prized young talent such as Jobe Bellingham and Chris Rigg, with top European clubs circling for their signatures.
One Sunderland transfer target labelled as their “Jobe Bellingham replacement” now looks nailed on to be departing his Premier League club this summer after head coach’s latest update on his future.
Sunderland transfer target Tommy Doyle set for crunch talks with Wolves boss Vitor Pereira
Wolves midfielder Tommy Doyle has been a transfer target heavily linked with a switch to Sunderland this season.
Doyle, who starred in the 2022/23 Championship season on loan at Sheffield United, has featured 24 times in the Premier League for the Molineux outfit this season but has made only three starts under Vitor Pereira.
Bellingham, on the other hand, has made 37 starts for Sunderland this term, notching seven goal contributions and cementing himself as one of the second tier’s best talents and a potential future England first-team international.
Interest in the former Birmingham City youngster will increase this summer, despite his current Cats deal expiring in 2028, and Sunderland may be forced into a sale no matter the division they play in given the £30million-plus figures touted for Bellingham.
Transfer reporter Alan Nixon on Patreon has said this season: “Sunderland want Wolves midfielder Tommy Doyle as the long-term replacement for Jobe Bellingham.
“The Black Cats know a major bid is likely in the summer. Their spies are focusing on Doyle, who may become available at the end of this campaign.”
However, Wolves boss Pereira has this week dropped a major hint over central-midfielder Doyle’s future, hinting the player Wolves signed for £4.3 million from Manchester City last summer may soon depart.
The Wolves boss has penciled in crunch talks with the 23-year-old, and via the Express and Star, Pereira explained: “Usually, at the end of a season, I have a conversation with the players,
“If I have a conversation with a player and they say they are not happy because they want to play, and I can’t guarantee they will play a lot of games next season, then this is a decision.
“It’s not a decision just from my part or the club’s part, it’s a conversation between the coach, the club and the player to decide.
“You need to have players here with their mind and heart here, happy, because they feel this happiness inside.”
A return to Bramall Lane has been mentioned regarding Doyle, but given Sunderland’s youth-first football philosophy and their track record for developing supreme young talent, it could be a match made in heaven for Doyle to move from Wolverhampton to Wearside.
What Vitor Pereira has said about Sunderland transfer target Tommy Doyle
Doyle’s involvement at Wolves has been restricted to substitute appearances under Pereira, with his last sufficient showing coming in his 60-minute spell in their 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest.
Pereira also said of Doyle: “Technically-speaking, he’s a very good player, but in my opinion he’s missing the physicality to face this league,
“We are not a team to have 80 per cent of possession, so he has problems. If we are a team that has the ball every time, doesn’t allow counter-attacks and keeps the ball to dominate the opponent, this is the team for him.”
| Tommy Doyle |
| Games played – 24 (3 starts) |
| Goals – 0 |
| Assists – 1 |
| Minutes played – 475 |
The Wolves boss added: “We need to run a lot and he’s missing this physicality, especially when we play with two midfielders.
“With three midfielders, I believe he is a 10 with high quality. The last pass, shots, crosses – he has those skills.”
Pereira’s assessment would suit Le Bris’ style, with the Black Cats favouring the three-man midfield formation in the 4-3-3 all season, seeing Bellingham and Rigg advancing further than holding-midfielder Dan Neil.
If Sunderland’s worrying play-offs record comes to fruition again, which leads to Borussia-Dortmund linked Bellingham being sold this summer, the door is seemingly open for Doyle’s signature to be secured and the “high quality” midfielder would be a suitable reinforcement in Le Bris’ engine room.