Sunderland contract stance on Leeds United-linked star as £6m clause explained
Leeds United were linked with interest in the Sunderland star recently.
Sunderland sporting director Kristjaan Speakman has already issued a stern warning to anyone interested in his players amid recent reports linking Leeds United with a move for Dennis Cirkin.
Leeds were linked with interest in Cirkin on Sunday, with the left-back enjoying an excellent start to the season under new manager Regis Le Bris after registering two goals and one assist. The second of those goals came via a thumping long-range effort in Saturday’s 2-2 draw against Coventry City, with the Sunday Mirror following that up with claims of Elland Road interest in the 22-year-old.
They claim Leeds are eyeing up the possibility of a January raid but add Sunderland are highly unlikely to sanction the sale of a key player to one of their direct promotion rivals. Cirkin will enter the final 12 months of his Black Cats contract come summer but Speakman has an extension towards the top of his list, insisting recently that retaining top players is paramount at the Stadium of Light.
“It’s [contracts for Dan Neil and Cirkin] definitely on our radar,” Speakman told the Sunderland Echo. “The thing with contracts is that you get some complete, and then there’s always other ones that start moving closer. I think to get a [Dan] Ballard, a Jobe [Bellingham] and a Chris Rigg recommitted to the club was incredible for us considering their value to the team and performance level, and also their value from a financial perspective.
“We were really pleased that those boys felt they were comfortable committing themselves here. It’s a journey we continue to go on through, and we want to retain our best talent. I’ve said before that retaining talent is often harder than acquiring fresh talent, but we’ll continue to trying to do that and trying to make sure we keep ourselves in a really positive place with our squad composition.”
Tottenham clause
Sunderland signed Cirkin from Tottenham Hotspur in 2021, at a time when they were still in League One, and after a period of fitness issues the left-back is enjoying an excellent start to the season. Reports in the past suggested Spurs were looking at a return to north London for the defender and inserted a £6million buy-back clause into his initial exit.
But the Sunderland Echo state that option was only valid until June 30, 2024, meaning Tottenham have no automatic trigger they can activate. It remains to be seen how highly Black Cats chief value Cirkin but his impressive start to the campaign, plus the increasing chance of a serious promotion battle, makes a January exit unlikely as things stand.
Links between Leeds and Cirkin come amid continued uncertainty over the future of Junior Firpo, whose Elland Road contract is set to expire at the end of this season. Speaking exclusively to the YEP last week, Firpo revealed that no talks had taken place over the prospect of an extension, with focus entirely on winning promotion.
"I don't know even what Leeds want to do with me," he said. "I don't know yet. We haven't had this conversation yet. The manager hasn't had this conversation yet with me. I think we are just focusing at the moment in playing every game, winning every game, win as many games as possible, and get us promoted. This is the target. And if I have to leave after the season, at least Leeds are going to be in the Premier League."