Sunderland AFC: Since nothing happens, these 3 players have decided to leave the SoL
Three players are already set to leave the North East outfit unless they establish new terms with their club
After landing a play-off spot at the end of the 2022/23 Championship campaign, Sunderland hoped to replicate that success during the 2023/24 season.
However, the Black Cats have endured a tricky season and are not a threat to the Championship’s top six, which is disappointing for the Stadium of Light faithful.
In order to challenge for a play-off spot next season, the Black Cats will need to have a successful transfer window and bring fresh talent to Wearside.
But the summer will also be a time when some current Mackems stars depart their club, while three players are already set to leave the North East outfit unless they establish new terms with their club.
These are the three players currently set to depart the Stadium of Light
Former Blackburn Rovers man Corry Evans joined the Black Cats in 2021, on an initial two-year deal that would keep him at the Stadium of Light until at least 2023.
He played a key role in the Mackems’ 2021/22 promotion-winning campaign, as he made 33 League One appearances, guiding his team to a play-off spot before they would go on to win the final at Wembley.
Evans signed a new deal with his club in February 2023, which keeps him on Wearside until the end of the 2023/24 campaign, but the club do have the option to extend his contract by a further year.
However, if the Black Cats have not yet triggered the one-year extension option on the Northern Irishman’s contract and if that remains the case, he will leave the club this summer for free.
The Mackems could be reluctant to renew the 33-year-old’s contract as he has suffered from an anterior cruciate ligament injury, keeping him out of the side this campaign.
Ellis Taylor is a graduate of the Black Cats’ Academy of Light, and made four appearances for the senior team during the 2021/22 season, with three outings in the EFL Trophy and one in the EFL Cup.
The Black Cats won promotion from League One via the play-offs that season but Taylor would not register a single league appearance as his side made their long-awaited Championship return.
The starlet spent the 2022/23 season on loan at fellow North East outfit Hartlepool United, then of League Two, where he made four league appearances and could not help the side avoid relegation to the National League.
Taylor made an EFL Cup appearance during the current campaign, but the three-year deal he signed after graduating from the academy in 2021 is set to expire this summer.
