Ex-Sunderland favourite delivers transfer warning but praises club’s great recruitment strategy

Former Sunderland full-back Julio Arca believes the team are playing the best football they have in years and has praised the club’s excellent recruitment.

Just a year after promotion from League One, the Black Cats finished sixth in the Championship last season before losing to eventual winners Luton in the play-offs.

“Look Sunderland last season did fantastically well,” Arca, who played for the club between 2000 and 2006, told the Echo. “Obviously I’m disappointed for the fans to not get through the final steps.

“When you see where Sunderland was the season before coming up to the Championship and finishing where they finished it’s fantastic.

“The football they played is probably the best football Sunderland have played in many, many years, keeping the ball, breaking lines, young players in there, some who were not well known.

“The recruitment was great and I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of players they have brought in and can bring in this season.

“I think they are in a good place at the moment, obviously expectations are really high when you get to the play-offs and want to get there again. It’s a good pressure for them to have I guess.”

After already signing four new players since the end of last season, Sunderland will be looking to further strengthen their squad during this summer’s transfer window.

The Black Cats will also hope to keep hold of their key assets in the coming months, following Premier League interest in players such as Jack Clarke, Dan Ballard, Dan Neil and Anthony Patterson.

“There are some great players but you need to realise that when you have this young talent and do well big teams will come for them,” added new South Shields boss Arca, whose side will face Sunderland in a pre-season friendly this weekend.

“This comes to the financial side, if someone comes and offers £10-15million for one of the younger players and the club needs the money you might have to sell.

“I think the club knows that and the manager knows that and I’m sure they have been working on different options just in case this happens.”