According to the latest reports from Lancashire Telegraph as cited by Shields Gazette, Sunderland are eyeing a deal for Accrington Stanley defender Ross Sykes. The 19-year-old is in the final few months of his contract. However, Accrington are hopeful that they can secure the long term future of their young defender.
The defender is currently out of action with a groin injury, and we feel a move to Sunderland might make things interesting for the defender in the summer. The Black Cats are in a decent position to move to the Championship, and the defender too should want to play in a higher division. (our opinion).
Jack Ross is going to lose the services of Jimmy Dunne after the end of the season as the Irish defender’s loan spell would expire. Having joined from Burnley in January, the 21-year-old has established himself as a first-team member of the squad. Jack Ross might have to look at other defenders in the summer to replace the outgoing Dunne.
Apart from Dunne, currently one can say Ross has two decent options in the form of Jack Baldwin and Tom Flanagan. Alim Öztürk and Glenn Loovens were signed on a free transfer in the summer of 2018, but they have been used sparingly by the Scottish manager.
Sykes has managed to establish himself as one of the most promising youngsters in the English League One, and a move to an upper division looks very much on the card to us. Accrington are nowhere near challenging for the promotion spots as they are 15th on the table, so they are going to find it hard to keep hold of a talent like Sykes.
The 19-year-old started his youth career with Burnley before moving to Stanley in 2016. In a few months, he started breaking into the first team. Ever since then, he has been a regular part of the team and managed 17 appearances in all competitions this season before an injury brought him down.
The defender stands in at 6ft4inches, and there is pretty much nothing which goes past him in the air. The youngster also showcases decent maturity for his age and is often calm and composed. All in all, Sunderland would be getting a promising young defender with a high ceiling who can develop into a top-class prospect in a few years. Therefore we would suggest the Black Cats should do everything in their means to sign this promising defender.
