The staggering stats behind key Sunderland transfer debate revealed in major study

Sunderland's commitment to playing young players has been underlined after they were ranked 10th in the world over the last year.

The annual report from the CIES Football Observatory has been released this week, detailing the percentage of minutes clubs from 61 leagues across the world have handed to young players. Sunderland have handed 59.7% of their minutes to U23 players, ranking them 10th across all of those divisions.

No club in the Championship or elsewhere in the UK has handed as many minutes to U23 players, with Chelsea's 43.4 the next on the list. The next highest ranked Championship club is Plymouth Argyle, but they sit comfortably outside the top 50.

Sunderland do fall down the list for the lower age brackets, ranking 35th for U21 minutes - though they are still the highest in the UK. They return to the top 20 for minutes handed to U19 players, again ranked the highest in both the Championship and across the rest of the UK.

While Sunderland's commitment to handing young players opportunities has been a major asset both in retaining academy players and attracting some top prospects in the transfer market, the collapse of their play-off push this season has led to many fans calling for a tweak to the club's strategy. Interim head coach Mike Dodds admitted last month that a combination of injuries and suspension had left Sunderland fielding teas too light on experience, at one stage the two youngest sides in modern Championship history.

What has Sunderland sporting director Kristjaan Speakman said recently about the issue?

Fans quizzed sporting director Kristjaan Speakman on the topic at a meeting of the supporter collective in early March and while he said the club was always looking for a 'balance', he insisted that their actions showed they value experience.

"KS cited Corry Evans and the re-signing of Luke O’Nien and Patrick Roberts to longer term contracts, adding that senior players in Bradley Dack and Nazariy Rusyn also signed in the summer," the minutes read.

"Anthony Patterson, Dan Ballard, Dan Neil, Jack Clarke and Adil Aouchiche are also amongst the players to have over 100 senior appearances each, with others beyond or nearing that milestone. KS believes supporters want good players regardless of age and the club wants good players, adding that we are always to trying to find the right balance."