Sunderland pair make top 50 EFL players list - but key duo miss out

Two key Sunderland players have been named in the English Football Leagues 50 best players list by popular football magazine FourFourTwo.

The annual list, which is released towards the end of each domestic season, sees the magazine consult with fans of all 72 football league clubs in order to compile a list of the best players from the Championship, League One and League Two. And that list sees two Black Cats stars named amongst the best 50 EFL players with 19 goal top scorer Jack Clarke placed high up in the rankings alongside summer recruit Jobe Bellingham, who makes his first appearance in the list.

Wearside winger Jack Clarke just missed out on the top spot, coming in third place just behind Leeds United’s Crysencio Summerville and Leicester City wizard Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall who came second and first respectively. Bellingham was placed at number 50 in the list.

However, there is surprisingly no place for highly rated Stadium of Light stars such as Dan Neil or Trai Hume, which is sure to bemuse some Wearside fans. Elsewhere, Notts Country striker and reported January target Macaulay Langstaff was named in the list at number 39 alongside Mansfield Town’s Sunderland born midfielder Davis Keillor-Dunn.

According to the magazine, Championship fans are asked to submit a ranked list from 1-10 and first place 10 points, second receiving nine, down to a single point for 10th., whereas fans in Leagues One and Two are asked for a top five, with five points for first, down to one point for fifth before tallies are compiled and the full list is released. It mirrors last year’s list for Sunderland, who had also two players included in last year’s top 50 players too, with ex-forward Ross Stewart (30) and Amad Diallo (8) ranked high in the list.