Revealed! How much Sunderland have saved following Jack Rodwell's exit one year ago

Jack Rodwell - who had scarcely played in over a year amid debates over his injuries, fitness and attitude - left the Stadium of Light.

An agreement was reached to bring his five-year contract on Wearside to an end a year early, after much was made of his big-money salary.

The midfielder-turned-defender earned over £70,000 per week, with his wage failing to drop after the Black Cats were relegated from the Premier League.

Rodwell has since gone on to join Blackburn Rovers, where he is mulling over a new contract amid interest from Italy.

But had he not agreed to leave the Black Cats, the contract he signed when arriving from Manchester City in 2014 would be set to expire this weekend.

As it was, the agreement ensured Sunderland did not have to pay his wages after suffering relegation to League One - but how much exactly have the club saved thanks to his departure?

We crunched the numbers to find a rough estimate of how much the Black Cats have saved following Rodwell’s exit - and it looks to be a big-money sum.

The former Everton youngster’s wages were set to drop to around £44,000 per week following relegation to League One - which is still a large sum in the third tier.

That would have meant Sunderland would have had to pay the midfielder £2.28million over the course of the 2018/19 campaign.

This of course, is money saved, but it is understood that the agreement reached with Rodwell included a financial settlement which saw his contract terminated early.

While the exact value of this fee is unknown, it will temper the amount Sunderland have saved in reality.

Nonetheless, the Black Cats look to have saved a large figure after striking the agreement with the midfielder - albeit less than the £2.28million they would have shelled out in wages.

And such savings have no doubt been put to good use as the club’s new ownership looked to establish a more stable footing.