"Louis-Dreyfus needs to sort this" - Sunderland star's future as Southampton eye transfer: The verdict | OneFootball

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This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Sunderland managed to fend off summer interest in winger Patrick Roberts and keep him a part of their team for this season.

The 26-year-old has got his career going once again since arriving at the Stadium of Light, and that form hadn’t gone unnoticed in the summer.

Roberts entered the final 12 months of his contract in the summer, and that resulted in interest mounting up, with Championship rivals Southampton the keenest.

The Saints signed Ross Stewart from the Black Cats, and they were also keen on adding Roberts as well, with them seeing a £5 million bid rejected.

Even though they couldn’t get a deal over the line, that hasn’t ended Southampton’s pursuit, with the Sunday Mirror Sports Editor Darren Witcoop reporting the Saints are keeping an eye on Roberts’ situation, with his contract expiring in June 2024 unless he signs a new deal.

So, with the news that Southampton haven’t given up hope of signing Roberts, here at Football League World writers have shared their thoughts on whether they see Sunderland selling the winger in January.

Brett Worthington

Sunderland are facing the prospect of a really difficult January transfer window, as if a new deal can’t be agreed upon with Roberts beforehand, they could face the possibility of selling him.

That is because Sunderland won’t want Roberts to remain at the club for the season and run his contract down.

So, given that they rejected bids in the summer, they obviously thought they could still get the player to sign a new contract.

However, at the time of writing, that is yet to happen, and as we get closer and closer to January, it seems there could be a real possibility that the Black Cats have to sell the winger, so he doesn’t leave on a free transfer.

Tony Mowbray and Sunderland will be desperate for that not to happen, but if there isn’t a breakthrough, there doesn’t seem to be much point in Sunderland keeping the 26-year-old beyond January, when he is likely going to leave at the end of the season.

It is unclear what Sunderland would want for the player, but given they rejected £5 million in the summer, they obviously value him a lot more, but it is increasingly unlikely Southampton or any team would pay that fee or anymore in January, with six months left on his contract.

Sam Rourke

Patrick Roberts has continued his excellent form from last season in this year's campaign so Sunderland won't want to let him go in January, you would imagine.

Him and Jack Clarke in particular offer Tony Mowbray's side creativity, guile and the ability to create chances and unlock opposition defences, traits that are rare and incredibly important to a side like Sunderland who have promotion ambitions.

It would be no surprise to see Southampton launch a fresh offer for the ex-Celtic man in the January window though given Roberts' contract situation, but it seems the Saints will have to fork out a sum higher than the £5m that was offered and subsequently rejected in the summer.

On his day, Roberts can be one of the best midfielders in the division so Sunderland ought to do all they can to tie him down to a new deal before January rears its head.

You do have to wonder why it's taken so long for the club to seal a new deal for Roberts though which ultimately suggests a transfer away in the new year cannot be ruled out at all.