Dan Ballard explains why Sunderland is the right club for him despite reported West Ham transfer interest

Dan Ballard says he wasn’t distracted by reported Premier League interest this summer and believes Sunderland is the best place for this stage of his career.

West Ham were credited with interest in the 23-year-old centre-back earlier this year, yet Ballard has since signed a contract extension, until 2027, at the Stadium of Light.

The defender was also a transfer target for Burnley last summer, while he was contracted to Arsenal, but opted to join Sunderland as he felt there would be more first-team opportunities on Wearside.

“I think for my pathway going forward I’ve got a good relationship with the manager and with the club,” Ballard told the Echo when asked about his new Black Cats deal.

“I feel like I’m a big part of this team and sometimes you can’t guarantee that anywhere else.

“I’m really happy and comfortable here and feel like it’s the best place to play my football.”

Ballard missed the end of last season, including Sunderland’s play-off matches against Luton, with a hamstring injury and spent extra time at the Academy of Light to recover over the summer.

On the reported interest from West Ham, the defender added: “I don’t really pay too much interest. I think you probably would if they come in and really try to disrupt things but that wasn’t the case.

“I was focusing on getting back fit and doing my pre-season so there wasn’t really any time to think about that and I was just happy and enjoying playing football.”

Ballard is also keen to make up for lost time after watching from the sidelines against Luton - when the Black Cats were dealing with several injuries at centre-back.

“It was tough because I felt I could have helped the team,” he admitted.

“They didn’t have any centre-halves for the away game at Luton and that summed it up in the end.

“It was extremely frustrating but it’s something to learn from. I was trying desperately to get back to full fitness and that probably worked against me but it’s something to learn from in the future.

“I’ve been in the full off-season and had probably over two months of work, running and getting fit.

“My body and myself, I’ve never been in a better spot so hopefully I can stay fit, stay on the pitch and put in some good performances for the team.”

Ballard started Sunderland’s Championship opener against Ipswich at the Stadium of Light as Tony Mowbray’s side were beaten 2-1 by the newly-promoted side.

Still, despite the result, the defender believes there were positives to take, with the team targeting another top-six this season.

“I think that’s the goal,” replied Ballard when asked about challenging for the play-offs again. “I think it’s going to be a lot tougher than last year.

“As you saw with a team coming up from League One, I felt like we were the better team but they managed to get the result.

“I think it’s going to be like that throughout the season and there are going to be some tough tests and hopefully some enjoyable ones.”