"He didn't like me" - Kristjaan Speakman blamed for Sunderland AFC player situation | OneFootball

The 20-year-old left the Stadium of Light permanently in March.

Former Sunderland player Jewison Bennette has blamed Kristjaan Speakman for his lack of success at the Stadium of Light.

The benefits of the model that Speakman, the sporting director, and Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, have brought to Wearside over recent years has been lauded to the moon and back since their promotion to the Premier League. They proved that you can do it with kids and make a decent profit along the way.

No better example of that is Jobe Bellingham, who has played a pivotal role in the centre of the pitch for the Black Cats in his two seasons with the club, and is now getting closer to a move to Borussia Dortmund for £25 million this summer, having been bought from Birmingham City for around £3 million in 2023.

Jewison Bennette blames Sunderland failure on Kristjaan Speakman

Sunderland have hoovered up talent from all corners of the world. In this system, the cream rises to the top, but those who get left behind can end up being chucked to the wayside. Bennette, the 20-year-old Costa Rican who was brought to Sunderland in the summer of 2022, can be put into that category.

The attacker struggled for minutes all throughout his time in the northeast, and has now said that Speakman, and his lack of desire to have him at the club, was the reason behind his non-starter career with the Black Cats.

He told La Nacion: "The Sunderland issue was extra-football [non-football] related. I don’t feel there was anything specific, that I did anything wrong.

"Simply, the sporting director didn’t want me, there wasn’t a good relationship, he didn’t like me, and I wasn’t going to get a chance at Sunderland."

Bennette went on loan once to Greek side Aris Thessaloniki before leaving Sunderland permanently in March for LNZ Cherkasy.

"I spoke with him [Speakman], asked him what had happened, but in the end, we didn’t reach an agreement," the 20-year-old stated on his solo temporary move. "I respect his opinion, but I don’t share it, and that’s why I asked him to leave permanently, so I could play regularly."

Failed dreams are a result of the Sunderland system

Becoming a professional footballer is incredibly hard to do in the first place. It is the most popular sport in the world, so even getting to the point where that becomes your sole income is an achievement in itself.

The other harsh reality of the game is that an even smaller percentage become very successful. Sunderland's methodology looks to pick out those who will be before they are at that point.

Unfortunately that comes with consequences for players who don't prove them right. If they don't think someone is going to help them, the likes of Speakman have every right to act in the club's interests and prioritise those who could become real assets. It's simply an inevitability of the way they do things, but also football in general.