‘A few offers’: Bradley Dack opens up on delayed Sunderland transfer, Blackburn exit and Tony Mowbray chat

Bradley Dack says he had multiple offers after leaving Blackburn at the end of last season but waited until he could sign for Sunderland.

The 29-year-old was released by Rovers in May, when it was announced he wouldn’t be offered a new deal, following five years at the club.

But after weeks of individual training over the summer, Dack finally signed for Sunderland at the end of July, reuniting with former boss Tony Mowbray who he played under at Blackburn.

When asked how the Sunderland move came about, Dack told the Echo: “Obviously I had a few offers from abroad but I spoke to the manager quite early in the window. He kind of said ‘listen it’s something that we want to do. It might take a bit of time.’

“We had to be patient, it obviously would have been nice to get in and have a full pre-season but it didn’t pan out that way.

“There were not many Championship clubs that excited me but this one did massively, the size of the club, the stadium, the players, how they did last year, obviously the manager. Everything about it just ticked so many boxes.

“Once I heard they were interested it was kind of the only place I wanted to be.”

Dack also spoke with former Blackburn teammate Corry Evans before joining Sunderland, while he’s previously played against the likes of Danny Batth, Alex Pritchard, Jack Clarke and Patrick Roberts.

“Obviously I know Corry Evans from before and we’re pretty close,” Dack explained. “I spoke to him a lot over the summer and he went through a lot of things with me so I knew a bit about the club.

“There are quite a few players here that I’ve played against over the years, Danny, Pritch, Clarky, Pat so it’s been pretty easy to fit in and I’ve really enjoyed my time so far.”

Dack made his Sunderland debut when he came off the bench against Crewe in the Carabao Cup and believes he’ll soon be ready to start games again.

The 29-year-old has also come back from two ACL injuries, the second of which occurred in March 2021, but says he’s ready to prove a point following a frustrating 2022/23 campaign at Blackburn.

“The way I see it, it’s part and parcel of football, you get injuries.

“I’d had nothing until those so it was a tough couple of years but I feel like last season I could have played a lot more. I felt when I did play I affected football matches.

“I’ve been back now for almost 18 months so feel like I’m kind of there and ready to prove a few points.”

Dack was often deployed as a No 10 under Mowbray at Blackburn, where he scored 15 goals and provided seven assists in the Championship during the 2018/19 season.

Asked where he sees himself fitting in at Sunderland, Dack replied: “I think because of the players who play at the top end of the pitch for this club, Clarkey and Pat and Pritch it’s kind of all interchangeable.

“Listen, they excite me because they are creative players as well and I know they’ll find me in the box and I’ll definitely score goals.

“It’s exciting to be playing with the likes of those players and hopefully we can kind of gel together pretty quickly and start finding the net.”