Player set to depart Chelsea for Sunderland
Sunderland have agreed a deal to sign Ivan Struk for their youth side.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Sunderland have agreed to sign 16-year-old Ivan Struk from Chelsea, making him the third Ukrainian player to join the club.
- Struk was signed by Chelsea in 2022 after impressing in a trial, and he has already shown promise for Sunderland’s under-18 team.
- Sunderland’s transfer strategy of signing young players has been successful so far, with players like Jack Clarke and Dan Neil performing well for the team.
Sunderland are set to bring another Ukrainian to the club as they have agreed to sign Ivan Struk from Chelsea for next season.
The 16-year-old has reportedly signed a pre-scholarship with Sunderland who he has already represented and that he officially be their player in the summer, as per the Sunderland Echo.
He will become the third Ukrainian to join The Black Cats joining Nazariy Rusyn and Timur Tuterov on Wearside.
| Sunderland – 2023/24 Signings | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player Name | Signed From | Loan/Permanent |
| Nazariy Rusyn | Zorya Lugansk | Permanent |
| Jenson Seelt | PSV | Permanent |
| Jobe Bellingham | Birmingham City | Permanent |
| Eliezer Mayenda | FC Sochaux | Permanent |
| Luis Semedo | Benfica B | Permanent |
| Nectarios Triantis | Central Coast | Permanent |
| Bradley Dack | Blackburn Rovers | Permanent |
| Timothee Pembele | PSG | Permanent |
| Adil Aouchiche | FC Lorient | Permanent |
| Nathan Bishop | Man United | Permanent |
| Mason Bustow | Chelsea | Loan |
Who is Ivan Struk?
Ivan Struk is a highly rated young prospect who comes form a footballing family as he is the third generation to be playing the sport.
He is also a former Chelsea player as the London giants signed him back in 2022 which Struk announced on his own Instagram.
The reason he was picked up by Chelsea was because he was one nine players who impressed the club in a trial which also included Andriy Shevchenko’s son however Struk was the only who signed by the two-time Champions League winners.
He has impressed for Sunderland’s under 18’s already so there is a strong possibility that once he officially joins that he may be a part of the first-team in the near future.
Will Sunderland’s transfer strategy pay-off?
Ironically Sunderland’s eye for signing young players in recent windows is very much like Chelsea’s so they will be hoping in this instance that the Premier League side’s eye for talent is a good one.
They nearly pulled off back-to-back promotions last season when they got into the play-offs with a young squad whilst also losing the manager who started the campaign, Alex Neil, to Stoke City.
So far this campaign they have lacked some consistency however with an average squad age of 22.9 years old according to tranfermrkt they are right in the mix for another play-off spot as they currently sit in 8th place.
If Sunderland are constantly competing with the other big sides in the league with a side who are all gradually improving with more experience then the transfer strategy can only be seen as a positive one.
Who has been Sunderland’s best player this season?
Jack Clarke’s amazing form this season is testament to the strategy being used by Sunderland as the winger is one of the biggest threats in the division for opposition sides at just 22-years-old.
He has scored nine goals in the league and their fans will be hoping that the can carry that on throughout the busy festive period which is just around the corner.
As well as Clarke Dan Neil has impressed in the majority of his games at just 22-years-old with the buckets of potential the squad has easy for everyone to see.
The worry may be that if they do not achieve promotion in the next couple of years that they may lose of these players but hopefully by then the likes of Struk and others from the academy will be ready for the first team.
