Will Cattermole and Oviedo Remain at Sunderland Beyond the Transfer Deadline?

The arrival of a new owner, a clean slate financially and aims to turn the club back in the right direction. Life in League One won’t be easy for Sunderland this season, but at least they got off to a positive start, securing all three points in the opening fixture of the 2018-19 campaign against Charlton Athletic.

Cutting costs has been a priority during the summer for chairman Stewart Donald, following his takeover of the club in April, which has led to a host of notable departures in order to slash the wage bill and balance the books.For too long Sunderland has been a destination for players looking for an easy ride and the new owners have made it quite clear that the gravy train is now closed.

Getting rid of the highly paid players that no longer wanted to be at the club was essentially not only for financial reasons but also to help change the mentality and culture of the club back to something more inn line with the Kevin Phillips/Nial Quinn era. Wasim Zhazri, Lamine Kone and Paddy McNair are just some of the players to depart this summer, much to the relief of the supporters.

Meanwhile, manager Jack Ross has assembled an almost entirely new squad from mostly free transfers and low-cost signings with Charlie Wyke the exception rather than the rule.

There may yet be more players sacrificed to keep the finances trim, including midfielder Lee Cattermole, who is entering his tenth season with Sunderland but the new owners are hoping to shift him. A number of possible destinations have been touted for the 30-year-old, with the latest being a potential loan to Hull City, who are considered 16/1 Championship betting outsiders for promotion this season.

Cattermole didn’t feature in the squad for the opening day fixture against Charlton, however, the Sunderland Echo quoted Ross as suggesting his absence was purely a tactical consideration. “It was just a decision based on what I felt was right for today, nothing more than that,” he explained after the match, refusing to be drawn into any transfer speculation surrounding the player.

These comments appear to have been validated by the players inclusion in the wins over Scunthorpe and Gillingham which have seen the Black Cats bag seven goals and concede just once.

Another of the remaining high earners expected to be leaving is Bryan Oviedo. On the bench for the start of the encounter with Charlton, an early injury sustained by Donald Love prompted Ross to introduce the Costa Rican international in the 27th minute, with Oviedo earning praise for his impact on the remainder of the game.

After visiting Charlton had taken an early tenth-minute lead, Oviedo was arguably the best player on the pitch for Sunderland once he left the bench, effective and efficient in his defensive duties, whilst also proving lethally dangerous down the left flank. Indeed, his cross provided the assist for the winning goal scored by Lynden Gooch, deep into stoppage time, after Josh Maja had levelled the game midway through the second half.

Although another English club could bid for Oviedo before the 31st August loan deadline, more interest appears to be coming from Europe, where the transfer window doesn’t shut until the end of the month. Belgian reports have linked Oviedo with Club Brugge, but Sunderland have already rejected their initial offers as being below their own valuation for the player, which is thought to be around the £3 million mark.

There’s perhaps no denying that Sunderland manager Ross would relish keeping both Cattermole and Oviedo, having been pleased with their contributions and attitude in training. These are, after all, two players who could play a key role towards helping the team to achieve the objective of promotion straight back to the Championship.

They have made a good start and Cattermole leaving now appears less likely but whether a deal can be struck for Oviedo before the loan and European transfer window shuts remains to be seen. Sunderland fans will just be hoping that Jack Ross and his new look team can give the fans a team to be proud of at long last.