According to the latest reports from Sky Sports, Middlesbrough’s veteran midfielder Grant Leadbitter is set to join his boyhood club Sunderland permanently in this window. The 33-year-old is set for a medical today, and Jack Ross is going to get a reliable defensive midfielder in the form of this former academy product.
The English midfielder has played just 64 minutes of football in the Championship this season, and it is clear that he is unlikely to break through into Tony Pulis’ lineup. The Teessiders further went on to sign John Obi Mikel who is a defensive midfielder, so it made sense for the club to let go of one of its players. Leadbitter was in the final six months of his contract and Boro would be glad that they have been able to ship the player away without losing him for free over the summer.
It is believed that the midfielder has taken a massive pay cut to join the League One outfit. However, Sunderland looks on course to move to the Championship as they currently occupy the third spot. The veteran midfielder will provide experience to the lineup, and he still has enough in his locker to be a force to reckon with in the third tier of English football.
Sunderland had earlier signed Max Power from Wigan Athletic who is also a midfielder. However, someone like Leadbitter is suited to play in a deeper role in midfield. Leadbitter had over 120 appearances for the Black Cats during his first stint with them and the midfielder played a crucial role in getting them to the Premier League.
The veteran midfielder might not play every game for Jack Ross, but he can still do a job in the middle of the park. Also, a signing like this would also go down well with the fans as they are getting their former academy player back at the Stadium of Light.
The robust midfielder played for England at almost all youth levels but never managed to get into the senior Three Lions lineup. Leadbitter is tenacious as a midfielder, and his reading of the game is worth mentioning. He also has that odd spectacular goal in him. To go with that, he has been a leader throughout his career and was the captain of Middlesbrough.
All in all, we can say that this move is a good one for everyone involved and the Black Cats would be glad that they are getting an experienced player like him who has been part of numerous promotion battles in his career.
