"Gives Patrick Roberts more competition" - Sunderland AFC urged to strike "brilliant" deal for Burnley FC star | OneFootball

The Black Cats showed great interest in Marcus Edwards in January but the Clarets won the race for him, and they may return in the summer.

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 lost a lot of momentum in recent weeks as the top three sides in the Championship have started to build a lead over them and the Wearsiders now look consigned to a play-off finish.

The Black Cats are eight points behind Sheffield United, who occupy second place, and six behind Burnley following back-to-back defeats in the league for the first time this season.

Regis Le Bris' side suffered their first loss at the Stadium of Light of 2024/25 on Saturday against a struggling Hull City, and while they are not mathematically out of the running for a top-two finish, full focus will now be on ending the campaign strongly and entering the play-offs with momentum.

Premier League football is still more than on the cards for this young Sunderland team, and plans will already have been drafted for the summer transfer window, and the recruitment team in SR5 could have one eye on a target they missed out on in January who now plays his football for Burnley.

Sunderland urged to reignite interest in Marcus Edwards in the summer

The Black Cats and the Clarets were both extremely keen on signing Marcus Edwards in the winter transfer window on loan from Portuguese side Sporting CP, and he has been incredible at Turf Moor since making the switch.

He has scored two goals in his first four games for Burnley, and he has made a huge difference to the Lancashire club's attacking play - something that Scott Parker has been criticised for on multiple occasions this season.

Football League World's Sunderland fan pundit Jordan Newcombe was quizzed on whether he believes Le Bris should try and make a move for the winger if they are to beat the Clarets to promotion, with Alan Nixon reporting that the Wearsiders do remain interested in a move.

He told FLW: "Obviously, Marcus Edwards was on Sunderland’s radar as well as Burnley’s but obviously chose Burnley instead. If we can try and get him in next season, then that would be brilliant.

"It gives Patrick Roberts more competition and back up and that's something we need because we’ve only really got Roberts out on the right-hand side in his natural position. Ian Poveda’s not going to get game time, so I think we should try and keep tabs on him.

"If we can get him, then we’ll be even better, especially if we go up. We’ve got to get a fully-fledged right-winger who gives Roberts more competition, who could potentially do a lot more business than Roberts in certain situations if it's about scoring a goal or cutting inside.

"He’s really good at cutting inside and he obviously knows what to do, but he just hasn't had the best finishing this season. He's been losing the ball quite a lot, so bringing Edwards in would be really decent even on a loan.

"But the main thing we need to do is go up and go from there because we don’t want to be stuck in this league for another season when we've got a team that can do a lot more if they can put their heads to it and not concede last-minute goals and give away silly points."

Marcus Edwards has brought a new dynamic to Burnley that Sunderland would benefit from

Edwards' performance against Sheffield Wednesday on Friday proves just how much quality he has and it seems incredibly unlikely that he will play Championship football next season, whether he returns to Burnley or moves elsewhere.

Therefore, it is imperative that Sunderland win promotion to the Premier League if they want to rewrite history and bring the 26-year-old to the Stadium of Light in the summer.

His ability to take the ball past defenders with ease and put on the afterburners makes Edwards a stand-out in this division and he is exactly what the Black Cats need, as Roberts may not have the quality to compete in the top flight on the right flank.

However, remaining in the Championship will deny Sunderland any chance of taking the former Tottenham Hotspur youngster on next season.