Kristjaan Speakman eyeing triple Sunderland contract deal and youth international striker transfer

Sunderland lost their last game against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane in the Championship on Friday evening.

The result brought Sunderland’s 10-game unbeaten run to an end and moved the Black Cats’ recent record to no win in six games, including five draws and the loss against the Blades this week.

However, with the January transfer window fast approaching, we take a look at the latest transfer and contract news:

Kristjaan Speakman eyeing triple contract deal

Heading into the window, several contract priorities have emerged for sporting director Kristjaan Speakman.

Sunderland are still negotiating with first-team duo Dan Neil and Dennis Cirkin. Both are heading into the last eighteen months of their contract.

Their situations increases the club's vulnerability to top-tier approaches. Were a deal not to be agreed before the next summer window, then Sunderland would find it very difficult to reject any solid offers from the Premier League.

Sunderland and Harrison Jones are also in talks regarding a new contract at the Academy of Light. The Echo understands that talks between Jones, 19, and Sunderland remain ongoing, though sources close to the deal are hopeful an agreement will be reached by Christmas. Sunderland supporter Jones made his first-team debut earlier this season under Régis Le Bris at Deepdale against Preston North End in the Carabao Cup.

"It’s definitely on our radar,” Speakman told The Echo about the situations of Cirkin and Neil last summer. "The thing with contracts is that you get some complete, and then there’s always other ones that start moving closer.

“It’s a little bit like painting the Forth Bridge in that respect. It’s a constant piece of work, and we’ve always tried to be on the front foot with that element of things. I think to get a Ballard, a Jobe and a Chris Rigg recommitted to the club was incredible for us considering their value to the team and performance level, and also their value from a financial perspective.

“We were really pleased that those boys felt they were comfortable committing themselves here. It’s a journey we continue to go on through, and we want to retain our best talent. I’ve said before that retaining talent is often harder than acquiring fresh talent, but we’ll continue to trying to do that and trying to make sure we keep ourselves in a really positive place with our squad composition.”

Sunderland show interest in Daniel Cummings

Sunderland are one of several clubs showing an interest in 18-year-old Celtic striker Daniel Cummins having watched the player’s most recent youth game.

Football Insider’s Peter O’Rourke claims that Wolves, Fulham, Ipswich, Sunderland and Burnley watched Cummings score his fifth goal in five in Europe recently ahead of the January transfer window.

The Celtic supporter signed his first professional contract during the summer of 2022. Last season, Cummings made his breakthrough in the Lowland League Celtic B team, where he established himself as a prolific goalscorer the following season and has netted 32 times in 43 games.

In May 2023, the attacker scored the decider in a 6-5 win against Rangers in the Scottish Youth Cup final, attracting national headlines and has started this season averaging more than a goal per game with the B Team while also playing for Celtic’s youth teams in the league and in Europe.