Sunderland’s chances of signing Chris Mepham revealed, two more loan players have to stay if they win promotion

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Sunderland have the small matter of a play-off final to attend to this weekend, but EFL Analysis can exclusively reveal where the club stands on the situation regarding Chris Mepham’s future.

All eyes will be on Wembley this Saturday afternoon as Sunderland take on Sheffield United with a place in the Premier League up for grabs.

It’s the reward Regis Le Bris and his men have been working towards all season, and despite a poor end to the campaign, there is no taking away from the fact that finishing fourth this year was a massive achievement for the Black Cats.

All the statistics point towards a Sheffield United win, but as we know, football has a funny way of throwing up unpredictable results, and Sunderland will fancy their chances of springing a surprise this weekend.

Once the dust settles on that game, the summer transfer window will become the priority for Sunderland, and EFL Analysis has exclusive information as to what might happen with Chris Mepham in the coming weeks.

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What we know about Chris Mepham, plus Sunderland’s other loan obligations

Speaking to our transfer expert Graeme Bailey about what is likely to happen at Sunderland this summer, we dived into the contractual situation for Mepham. The defender has been on loan with the Black Cats this season from Bournemouth, but his deal with the Cherries is known to be coming to an end next month.

On that, we understand there is an option for an extension but it’s not an automatic one and it doesn’t look like Bournemouth will make any efforts to prolong his stay there.

The only potential spanner in the works is that Bournemouth are set to lose Dean Huijsen to Real Madrid, which could yet impact their stance on Mepham, but nothing has been confirmed on that front at this stage.

So, essentially, we believe Mepham is destined to become a free agent in the summer. As for Sunderland, if they can get promoted they are thought to be in a strong position to retain Mepham long-term.

Still, there is no obligation from either side as part of that original loan deal, so Sunderland will need to convince the player to stay beyond this season.

In contrast to this, Sunderland will be keeping both Enzo Le Fee and Salis Abdul Samed next season if they gain promotion to the Premier League. The two loan players both have obligations as part of the agreements that brought them to Wearside.

While Le Fee has impressed during his six-month stay, Samed has struggled with injuries and has had little chance to show what he can do for Sunderland.

But, like it or not, a win in the play-off final this weekend, and they will both stick around permanently for the Premier League campaign.

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Chris Mepham has been crucial to Sunderland’s success this season

Sunderland have plenty of dangerous players in attack, but not enough has been said about the defensive line they boast, and Mepham is a key part of that.

He may have been dropped for the ‘immense’ Dan Ballard for the play-offs, but Mepham has been a towering presence in the backline all season and is a player Sunderland fans have warmed to very quickly.

Mepham has played 39 times this term, racking up 3,281 minutes having played the full 90 in almost every game he has featured. Sunderland have kept 13 clean sheets with Mepham in the side.