Sunderland AFC transfer news: Tottenham unlikely to activate Dennis Cirkin £6m buy-back clause

The 20-year-old Dublin full-back represents one of Sunderland’s success stories under sporting director Kristjaan Speakman and head of recruitment Stuart Harvey after signing for the club in the summer of 2021 and helping the Black Cats to promotion from League One.

Cirkin has now made the step up to the Championship with Sunderland and is able to play both at left-back and at left-centre-back. He has made 59 appearances for the club in his one-and-a-half season stay so far.

Here, we take a look at the key questions surrounding Cirkin’s Sunderland contract and the deal to bring him in from Tottenham.

What is Dennis Cirkin’s contract situation at Sunderland?

Cirkin joined Sunderland for an undisclosed fee back in August 2021, penning a three-year deal at the Stadium of Light. That means Cirkin is roughly halfway through his current contract, which has another 18 months or so left to run.

Do Tottenham have the option to buy Dennis Cirkin back from Sunderland?

Spurs have a buy-back option of £6million which is valid until 30 June 2024. Should Tottenham not take up this buy-back option and the player moves elsewhere for a fee, they would be entitled to a percentage of profit on any subsequent sale.

Has it been suggested that Tottenham could activate the £6m buy-back clause?

Reports as recently as October have suggested that Tottenham could look to activate the £6million buy-back clause with some national outlets reporting that Antonio Conte is allegedly interested in correcting the club’s original transfer error.

Cirkin was originally a product of Tottenham’s youth academy having moved to England from Ireland at the age of three but did not make any first-team appearances while at the Premier League club.

Are Tottenham likely to buy Dennis Cirkin back from Sunderland?

The Echo understands that Tottenham are not considering buying Dennis Cirkin from Sunderland during the current transfer window as things stand – and that a potential deal isn’t high on the agenda of decision-makers at Spurs.

In any case, Cirkin would have to agree to return to Tottenham if the buy-back clause was triggered. It currently makes little sense to pull the player out of a club where he is excelling.

The move to bring Cirkin back to Tottenham isn’t seen as feasible by the London outfit at the moment given the mild uncertainty around Antonio Conte’s future and the fact that the club’s playing staff is already bloated.

There are scenarios in which this situation could change, however. Hypothetically speaking, should a Premier League rival come in with a big money bid for Cirkin, Tottenham could bring the player back to sell him on again.

This scenario feels unlikely at the moment given that Tottenham have struggled to offload fringe players at the club in recent campaigns.

What has Dennis Cirkin said about Sunderland previously?

Following Sunderland’s win at Wembley in the League One play-off final against Wycombe Wanderers at Wembley, Cirkin had this to say: “Even in the first place making the move, to me Sunderland is my club now. Playing 100% in every match, this is what we wanted.”