The candidates to replace the Corry Evans leadership void at Sunderland with new vice-captain expected

Sunderland captain Corry Evans will leave the club when his contract expires next month.

Evans captained the club over the past three seasons and lifted the League One play-off final trophy at Wembley Stadium against Wycombe Wanderers two summers ago.

The 33-year-old, however, picked up a serious injury during Sunderland’s first campaign back in the Championship, which limited Evans to just three appearances towards the back end of 2023-24.

In Evans’ absence, Luke O’Nien captained the club last season and will likely do so again during the next campaign. It will, however, be interesting to see who steps up to form Sunderland's new leadership group during 2024-25.

Here, we look at the contenders to become vice-captain behind O’Nien should he remain Sunderland’s on-pitch leader under the yet-to-be-announced new head coach.

Dan Ballard

The first contender has to be Dan Ballard. The 24-year-old is now experienced in the Championship, with 92 second-tier appearances under his belt and 131 senior games in all competitions overall.

The 22-cap Northern Ireland international is a leader and plays every game when fit. You would think that Ballard will definitely be in with a strong shout of taking vice-captain duties at the club next season.

Trai Hume

You also have the tough-tackling Trai Hume, who leads very much by example on the field and can be extremely vocal. Like Ballard, Hume is also an international (12 caps for Northern Ireland) and has experience under his belt in the Championship now having played two seasons for Sunderland in the second tier.

The 22-year-old has 74 Championship games under his belt, missing just two league games for Sunderland last season. Hume has played 147 times in senior competitions during his career so far.

Patrick Roberts

There's also Patrick Roberts. The attacking midfielder is now one of the most senior players at the club and the oldest behind Luke O’Nien at 27. He also has a lot of experience and has been around the block despite not perhaps being a hugely vocal leader on the pitch.

Roberts has played in France and has also played and won titles with Celtic as well as featuring for Manchester City and Fulham. Roberts now has 263 senior games under his belt and is five appearances off 100 for Sunderland.

Dan Neil

Homegrown man and fan of the club Dan Neil isn’t afraid of letting his feelings known to teammates during games and could well form part of Sunderland's senior leadership group now that Evans has departed.

The Academy of Light graduate could well step up to vice-captain Sunderland behind O’Nien. Neil feels like a safe option and one that fans would be in favour of. Being from the area, Neil understands the club and its supporters. The 22-year-old has 149 senior games under his belt for Sunderland, including 87 in the Championship.

Someone else

The transfer window is yet to open, so we don't know who Sunderland will bring in. It is feasible that some experience will arrive during the summer to replace what the club have lost during recent windows.

There has been a little bit of a void in terms of experience after the departure of Danny Batth and Lynden Gooch last summer. Alex Pritchard also went to Birmingham last January. It would make sense for Sunderland to target players with leadership qualities and experience during the trading period.