Exclusive:Sunderland trigger contract clause for highly-rated defender after season-long injury absence

Sunderland have triggered a one-year option to keep highly-rated defender Luke Bell at the club, The Echo understands.

Bell is set to remain at the Academy of Light for at least another year after Sunderland moved to extend his deal, despite the central defender missing the entire campaign through injury.

The decision continues Sunderland’s approach of supporting young players through difficult injury periods, particularly when they have suffered setbacks while playing or training for the club. The Black Cats are well regarded in that sense, with the club placing real importance on player welfare and duty of care.

Bell has not played a single game this season after suffering a serious knee injury at the back end of last campaign while training with the first team. Before that setback, he had made good progress at U21 level and was viewed as one of the more promising young defenders in the academy set-up.

During the 2024-25 season, Bell made 25 appearances across all competitions, including 15 in Premier League 2, three in the Premier League Cup, four in the Premier League International Cup, two in the National League Cup and one in the PL2 play-offs. He also scored once and played more than 2,000 minutes.

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His injury was first detailed by Sunderland U21s lead coach Graeme Murty last August, when he explained the scale of the blow and the support being put in place around the player. “Luke Bell unfortunately suffered a traumatic injury to his knee, and he’s going to be out for an extended period, so we’re supporting Luke in his journey,” Murty said at the time.

“It’s a real shame because we were training with the first team on that day, one thing that all of our players want to do,” the Sunderland coach added. “It was right at the end of the session. It’s just one of those injuries that happen, and he’s going to miss a significant chunk of time, but our support staff, our medical staff, our sports science staff are fully geared up and fully ready to support his journey back to fitness.”

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