Sunderland closing in on transfer addition of Arsenal player | OneFootball

Championship newcomers Sunderland are closing in on the signing of Arsenal centre-back Dan Ballard, Football Insider have reported.

The 22-year-old, who was believed to be on the verge of joining Burnley before a move to Turf Moor broke down earlier this week, has completed a medical with the Black Cats, with a deal on the verge of being finalised.

Ballard, who is a Northern Ireland international with 15 caps to his name, spent the 2021-22 season on loan at Millwall, where he appeared 31 times and scored one goal.

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The club signed Trai Hume from Glentoran

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Before that, Ballard’s only significant experience of senior football was a stint at Blackpool in League One, where he starred in their promotion campaign in 2020-21 by playing 30 games for the Seasiders.

Per The Athletic, Ballard had travelled up to Lancashire for a medical with Burnley earlier in the week, but following a breakdown in negotiations when it came to personal terms, the deal was called off.

That has allowed Sunderland to swoop for thee defender’s services, with Alex Neil set to complete his first addition of the summer.

The Verdict

This is somewhat of a coup for the Black Cats – and it proves that they have significant pulling power even though they’ve spent years in the third tier of English football.

Ballard will have had a number of Championship clubs interested in his signature, but Sunderland are quite clearly a club on the up under Alex Neil.

They will regularly pull in north of 30,000 fans at the Stadium of Light next season, and that is something that players want to buy in to.

At 22 years old, Ballard still has his best years ahead of him, and he’s an individual who Sunderland could potentially make a hefty profit on in the future.