"Not sure" - Sunderland AFC offered caution in transfer race for Chelsea player | OneFootball

FLW's Sunderland fan pundit is cautious about the club's interest in Chelsea prospect Harvey Vale

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Sunderland have been cautioned in their reported transfer pursuit of Chelsea's Harvey Vale, who has emerged as a target for Regis Le Bris's side in their bid to gain promotion to the Premier League this season.

January is poised to be a significant month for the Black Cats, who will be seeking reinforcements in order to solidify their promotion credentials. Sunderland have maintained consistency from an electrifying start to the season to keep themselves firmly in contention.

Following a crucial 2-1 victory over promotion rivals Sheffield United at the Stadium of Light on New Years' Day, Sunderland remain in fourth position but are just two points off second-placed Burnley, and five points shy of league leaders Leeds United.

While retaining key assets such as Chris Rigg and Jobe Bellingham will be a real priority for the promotion hopefuls, Le Bris will also be eager to fine-tune his squad and add the requisite quality to push his side over the line come May, and they're already putting their foot in the door by eyeing a move for Vale according to recent reports.

Sunderland's transfer interest in Chelsea's Harvey Vale

As per journalist Ben Jacobs, who broke the news via his X account at the end of last month, Sunderland are interested in the 21-year-old but face competition from Anderlecht and Herenveen of the Netherlands.

Though it's not disclosed in Jacobs' update, it's highly likely that any such move for Vale would be completed on a permanent basis. The Cobham graduate is out of contract at the end of the season and has naturally found first-team opportunity in Enzo Maresca's squad extremely difficult to come by, making just one appearance in the UEFA Conference League.

It was previously reported by Mail Sport that Vale is poised to leave Chelsea permanently this month, having gained interest from a number of Championship clubs.

Vale, who can play anywhere on the left-hand side but is also comfortable centrally in a double-pivot or further forward as an attacking midfielder, shone on loan with League One side Bristol Rovers in the 2023/24 campaign. The former England youth international made a significant impression in English football's third tier with his versatility and energy, and chalked up nine goal contributions across all competitions.

A step-up to the Championship appears the next natural direction in his career, although there's no denying it would be a huge leap to complete a mid-season move to Sunderland in the thick of their promotion pursuit.

Sunderland cautioned about transfer pursuit of Chelsea's Harvey Vale

Sunderland have gained a reputation for recruiting and developing young talent, a model implemented by owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and chairman Kristjaan Speakman. It's one which has been met with mixed opinions from supporters over the years, and the prioritisation of youth over experience last term as Sunderland finished in mid-table was a source of real frustration for the Wearside faithful.

The Black Cats have had the Championship's youngest squad by measure of average age in each of the last three campaigns after returning to the second-tier in 2022, meaning their pursuit of Vale stacks up and aligns with their overarching strategy to recruitment.

However, the signing could be viewed as a potential risk considering all but the entirety of his senior footballing experience has been honed below the Championship, and it would likely be an acquisition for the long-term.

With that in mind, we asked our Sunderland fan pundit, Jack Austwicke, if he would welcome the signing as one that fits the model or if the club should be recruiting more experience and know-how to immediately strengthen their promotion bid.

"I mean I don't mind the signing of Harvey Vale but I'd be lying if I said I'd watched him play, I haven't," Jack explained to Football League World.

"But I feel like with the position we're in, we need to capitalise and get better. Because why not go for it and get promoted this year? We've got every chance of doing it, so we should absolutely go for it.

"I'm not sure that's a signing that's going to propel us into the top-two or to a play-off win. Decent signing for the future, but we should be looking for more experience and know-how in what is a very short window."