Sunderland AFC could make millions from 5-man sale but they shouldn't yet: View | OneFootball

The Black Cats could retain both stability and their manager if they can show ambition and keep five of their most promising players.

Sunderland have made an excellent start to the 2024/25 campaign.

A 2-0 away win at Cardiff City on the opening day of the season was followed up by impressive home victories against Sheffield Wednesday and Burnley.

The Owls are managed by the talented Danny Rohl and could have given the Black Cats a very tough game at the Stadium of Light, but the hosts were ruthless and came away with a magnificent 4-0 win.

Some would argue that their game against the Clarets came at the right time, with the Lancashire side seeing quite a lot of players leave Turf Moor around that time, but they still had a high-quality team on the pitch and the fact the Black Cats secured three points was impressive.

They could have easily slipped up away at Portsmouth, which was their final game before the international break, but they were able to secure a decent victory there and only a freak own goal from Luke O'Nien prevented them from keeping a clean sheet at Fratton Park.

Regis Le Bris' side have done extremely well overall - and it will be fascinating to see whether they can remain consistent.

One thing can be said with confidence though - and that's the fact they look set to have a bright future - with the likes of Jobe Bellingham, Trai Hume, Dan Neil, Anthony Patterson and Chris Rigg currently at their disposal.

Sunderland need to retain stability after Jack Clarke's departure

Losing Jack Clarke looked set to be a major blow for the Wearside club, who richly benefitted from his contributions after seeing him sign permanently for the club back in the summer of 2022.

It always looked possible that he was going to move on during the previous summer transfer window though - and he ended up making the move to Ipswich Town.

Some attacking players have come in to try and fill the void that Clarke has created with his departure, but stability is much-needed after the winger's move to Ipswich and Pierre Ekwah's switch to Saint-Etienne, because both were key players who made a real difference.

Retaining their current key players for at least another season or two could provide that stability - and many of those players listed before the start of this section have established themselves as key first-teamers.

Of those five, Bellingham, Hume, Neil and Patterson are all four of the first names on the teamsheet, with Bellingham making a very good impact during his first season at the SoL last term.

Rigg, meanwhile, has been involved in all four league games this term, starting in three of those matches.

He could become a vital part of Le Bris' side's spine, along with Patterson, Neil and Bellingham.

Retaining quintet could help Sunderland to keep Regis Le Bris

It would be foolish to make a judgement on Le Bris after so few games in charge, but he has made an impressive start to life on Wearside and if he can continue to be a success, it may only be a matter of time before he attracts interest from elsewhere.

If the board can show ambition by knocking back offers for some of these players, it could help to persuade the Frenchman to remain at the club, which can only be a good thing for the Black Cats if he continues to do well.

There will come a time when the club will need to cash in on some of these stars, because that will allow them to invest in their squad in the future and bring in replacements.

All of these players are likely to make the Wearside outfit millions and some tempting offers could come in during the next one or two windows.

But it doesn't feel like the right time to sell any of the quintet just yet.

Patterson will only get better and still has plenty of time left on his contract, with his current deal not expiring until 2028.

Bellingham, meanwhile, penned a new deal last month and it feels like he will only get better and better.

Both the England youth international and Rigg have a very high ceiling, could go on to represent their country at a senior level and have plenty of unfinished business on Wearside.

To sell either of them during the next window or two would be upsetting for the coaching staff and fans.

Neil, compared to Bellingham and Rigg, has a lot of senior experience under his belt but keeping him could be important, because he knows the Black Cats inside out and his experience could be valuable to players who are even younger than him.

And Hume is a very gifted defender who doesn't see his deal expire for about another three years, so there isn't a real need to sell him during the next window.

All five players should be retained for as long as possible.