Hume features: 2 Sunderland deals that will push August 30th transfer deadline | OneFootball

The Black Cats will be hoping to retain the services of their star players this summer, but big-money offers may prove difficult to turn down.

Highlights

Sunderland are hoping for an improved showing in the Championship under new manager Regis Le Bris in 2024/25, but interest in key players such as Trai Hume and Jack Clarke could provide an unwanted distraction until the August 30 transfer deadline.

Reports have emerged in recent days linking Hume with a move to Turkish giants Galatasaray, whilst Premier League interest in Clarke from the likes of West Ham has been detailed.

Sunderland are entering into a Championship season that has a feeling of being a cross-roads-type campaign for the club, with increasing frustration and question marks towards those upstairs from the supporters having been observed in recent times.

Balancing signings with player sales is always an imperative aspect of running a successful football club, but it's crucial that Le Bris is seen to have been backed in all aspects of the transfer market this summer.

Therefore, deciding on what to do with Clarke and Hume could be a pair of decisions that the club scratch their heads over throughout the remainder of the summer transfer window.

Football Insider journalist Pete O'Rourke reported last week that Galatasaray had tabled a £7m offer to Sunderland for Hume.

This was then added to by fellow journalist Michael Graham the day after O'Rourke's initial report, when he revealed that the Black Cats had rejected that bid, whilst simultaneously placing a '£10m and we'll talk' message to any would-be suitors for their Northern Irish international.

However, these claims were cast into doubt by The Sunderland Echo, who have since revealed that it's their understanding that whilst interest in the 22-year-old right-back exists, Sunderland have received no formal approaches for him.

That's left a somewhat uncertain feeling surrounding the whole situation, and one that perhaps isn't going to go away any time soon either, as Graham believes that further bids will arrive for Hume this summer.

Hume appeared in every single one of Sunderland's 46-game Championship season last term, showing not only his value to the squad, but should provide context in terms of the size of the decision the club may have on their hands in regard to selling him.

If a sale is sanctioned, the club will surely refrain from letting him go before they've agreed a deal for his replacement, and that would need a considerable amount of time to be taken in order to ensure a key member of the squad is adequately replaced.

Therefore, this is a saga that we may well not see the resolution of until the end of the transfer window, as previously reported interested parties such as Aston Villa and Napoli could make a return for Hume.

Weighing up whether to cash in on a highly sellable asset, or taking the gamble of keeping them on hoping you can seduce him into signing a new contract further down the line, is always a tough decision for a football club to make.

But, it's the situation that Sunderland indeed find themselves in over their star winger Clarke this summer, with the winger having two years left on his contract, as reports have credited Southampton and West Ham as being ready to potentially make a move for him.

Therefore, fresh off the back of a 15-goal campaign, now may be the best time for the board to cash in on him. If they don't sell this summer, the club would be taking a sizeable risk in regards to the fee they could bag for him.

If Clarke gets injured, or sees a drop-off in his production, his price tag could fall significantly in 2025, but it could also rise should he enjoy another impressive first half of the 2024/25 season.

Being able to work with talented players such as Clarke and Hume will have played a large part in Le Bris taking the Sunderland job in the first place, and to lose one of, if not both of them, would surely frustrate him.

However, the cash injection the club would be in line to receive by selling either of them would allow the Black Cats boss to really stamp his mark on the Sunderland squad.

Le Bris and the board have some big decisions to make this summer, and as a result, the futures of Hume and Clarke could remain up in the air all the way up to the summer transfer deadline.