£1m Sunderland AFC transfer to fill Jack Clarke void is blueprint for future success | OneFootball

The winger joined the club for £1m, rising to £2m in add-ons.

Sunderland's blueprint for success under Kyril Louis-Dreyfus has focused on acquiring young talent for affordable prices, although that has been altered of late.

On deadline day in 2024, the Black Cats completed the deal to bring Romaine Mundle to the Stadium of Light for an upfront fee of £1m, rising to £2m in add-ons, according to the Northern Echo.

Like many others who have passed through the doors at the club, Mundle was not afforded an opportunity during his time at Tottenham Hotspur, meaning he had to depart.

Clearly, the Black Cats saw something in the winger and, after only a year at the club, his value has surely skyrocketed after a memorable year on Wearside.

Mundle was ready-made Jack Clarke replacement

When Sunderland signed Mundle from Standard Liege, they were taking a calculated gamble that the winger would be able to fulfill the promise shown in his Spurs days.

This formula worked for the likes of Dennis Cirkin and Jack Clarke, who both failed to make an impact in North London before moving to Wearside for cut-price deals.

At first, Mundle's role in the squad was clear as he played second fiddle to Clarke for the second half of the 2023/24 campaign before benefiting from a run in the team in his absence.

The winger made a total of 11 appearances, scoring one goal, although only five of these appearances were starts.

Despite being limited to opportunities, Mundle demonstrated glimpses of what he would be capable of, with his incisive play and trickery catching the eye.

Black Cats supporters could see his potential and his attacking statistics made for promising reading, with Mundle attempting 19 dribbles. This worked out as an average of 3.53 per game and placed him in the top 92 percentile of Championship players.

Fast-forward just over a year from Mundle's arrival and the deal to bring the 21-year-old over from Belgium must be considered a work of genius.

When Clarke departed in the summer, there were concerns that the Wearsiders would lose their attacking threat, as Clarke had carried the side the season before.

However, Mundle put Wearside worries to sleep with some emphatic displays, scoring in the next three games following Clarke's departure to Ipswich Town.

Crucially, the winger bagged the winner against promotion rivals Burnley with a lethal drilled effort which James Trafford could not deal with.

By early November, Mundle had notched four goals and two assists, his best output in his senior career, as he cemented himself in Regis Le Bris' side.

Unfortunately, Mundle suffered a significant hamstring injury in November and has not made an appearance since, with the 21-year-old missing a total of 15 league games.

Despite his injury, his attacking statistics make for impressive reading. In particular, Mundle ranks in the top 99 percentile for successful dribbles, with the midfielder averaging 2.28 successful dribbles per 90 minutes.

While the winger will have fierce competition to regain his place in Le Bris' starting eleven, he has proven that he is one of the club's prime options on the left.