This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk‘ series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
Sunderland had a strong season last year as they achieved promotion back to the Championship under the management of Alex Neil.
Finishing fifth in the league, the Black Cats were able to see off Sheffield Wednesday and Wycombe Wanderers to end their four year stay in League One.
Neil is already looking forward to next season with his club in the hope that his side can push up the league as much as possible and secure their status as a Championship club.
Football Insider have reported that Sunderland are closing in on a deal with Arsenal centre-back Daniel Ballard with a medical having been completed.
Ballard spent last season on loan with Millwall and the defender highly impressed during his time at The Den.
With that in mind, we asked FLW's Sunderland fan pundit Jack Austwicke for his verdict on the expected arrival: "Dan Ballard is a player I've never been able to watch myself but looking at his statistics and what you can get, it appears to be a great coup for a newly promoted side like Sunderland.
"Obviously he played over 30 times for Millwall last season, the same amount the season before for Blackpool in League One when they won promotion. So he's a regular feature in the Championship previously and for Millwall who were a top end team last season, so for us to sign him on what looks to be a four year deal, seems like a really good bit of business.
"Any player that's come through Arsenal's academy is always going to have talent so I'm definitely looking forward to seeing him at the club and seeing how he gets on hopefully alongside Bailey Wright next season."
The Verdict:
This is a great signing for Sunderland and gives them just what they need as they enter the Championship again.
At 22-years-old, the defender still has plenty of time to further develop his game and progress his own talent. Yet, he is also a player with consistent experience in the league after playing regularly for Millwall last season.
Furthermore, this is a sign of intent from the Black Cats. Considering he is a player that impressed in the Championship last season, a number of clubs in the league will have been interested in looking at acquiring his services. Therefore, the fact that Sunderland have been able to get him just coming back into the league, shows that they are ready to re-establish themselves as a side in the Championship.
With Bailey Wright having now signed a new deal too, it will be exciting for Sunderland fans to see the pair play with one another next season.