'Tough' - Ex-Leeds United player discusses Whites' treatment of Sunderland's Niall Higgins

After a drawn-out contract saga (of sorts), Denver Hume has signed a new two-year deal at the Stadium of Light – with the option for a further years extension.

And Sunderland’s sporting director Kristjaan Speakman has delivered his verdict on the Black Cats transfer business this summer following the closure of the window.

Here, though, we take a look at some of the stories you may have missed from around the web today:

Former Leeds United man discusses Niall Huggins and Whites’ treatment of them

Ex-Leeds United man Bryce Hosannah has revealed the Whites told several players in the squad that they were not in the club’s plans – including new Sunderland signing Niall Huggins.

Huggins progressed from the Leeds’ academy into the first-team at Elland Road and made his Premier League debut against Arsenal in February.

But Huggins joined Sunderland in the search for first-team football last month, signing a four-year contract at the Stadium of Light.

“For me, it was a bit different to the other players because I was still rehabbing from my surgery“, Hosannah told Leeds Live.

“The other players, when they came back for pre-season, I’m not sure of the exact conversations, were told they weren’t in the plans and it was best for them to move on.

“They weren’t able to train with that [the main] group, so they had to train separately and the players accepted it.

“Once I was declared fit I was put into that group as well, so we trained separately.

“It was tough for players like myself and Jordan who had been there for four years, but for players like Niall and Gottsy, who’ve been there all their life, it did look a bit tougher.

“We’re all good guys and all we tried to do is just do our best to get into the first team, so it was a bit tough, but we understand it’s football and decisions need to be made.

“It was fine and we trained separately, at the training ground, from the group and it was waiting for deals to get sorted.”

A message from the Football Clubs Editor

Our aim is to provide you with the best, most up-to-date and most informative Sunderland AFC coverage 365 days a year.

This depth of coverage costs, so to help us maintain the high-quality reporting that you are used to, please consider taking out a subscription to our new sports-only package here.

Your support is much appreciated. Richard Mennear, Football Clubs Editor