Dan Neil and Dennis Cirkin Sunderland contract latest update with additional bonuses to benefit
KRISTJAAN Speakman hopes both Dan Neil and Dennis Cirkin follow in the footsteps of Dan Ballard, Jobe Bellingham and Chris Rigg and sign new contracts with Sunderland.
Both Neil and Cirkin have moved into the final two years of their current deals at the Stadium of Light, with the former having turned down an opening offer from the club earlier this summer.
That was when there was still a cloud of uncertainty hanging over the club but Sunderland have since appointed Regis Le Bris, agreed extensions with Ballard, Bellingham and Rigg and enjoyed a blistering start to the season.
Neil was made captain in the summer while left-back Cirkin has been outstanding in the opening month of the campaign, showing just how badly he was missed when he was out injured last term.
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And sporting director Speakman knows how important both players are.
“It’s (contracts for Neil and Cirkin) definitely on our radar,” he said.
“The thing with contracts is that you get some complete, and then there’s always other ones that start moving closer. It’s a little bit like painting the Forth Bridge in that respect. It’s a constant piece of work, and we’ve always tried to be on the front foot with that element of things.
“I think to get a Ballard, a Jobe and a Chris Rigg recommitted to the club was incredible for us considering their value to the team and performance level, and also their value from a financial perspective.
“We were really pleased that those boys felt they were comfortable committing themselves here. It’s a journey we continue to go on though, and we want to retain our best talent.
“I’ve said before that retaining talent is often harder than acquiring fresh talent, but we’ll continue to trying to do that and trying to make sure we keep ourselves in a really positive place with our squad composition.”
The 18-year-old sustained a serious knee injury during Monday evening’s Premier League 2 defeat to Liverpool, and an update from the Black Cats prior to Friday’s Premier League Cup loss against Sheffield United suggested that the extent of the complaint was “significant”, with a “period of time on the sidelines” anticipated.
Cruelly, Waters has already had to come back from a similar injury once before in his fledgling career, and speaking after Friday’s clash against the Blades, Hewitson emphasised that the starlet has the strength of character to do so again. He said: “With Jake, it’s heartbreaking really because he’s had a similar injury in the past and he’s worked ever so hard to get back to full fitness.
