Energetic defende purr-fect for Cats

SUNDERLAND’S unexpected rise to the summit of the Championship has been powered predominantly by their potency in attack.

- Chris Dunlavy

Wilson Isidor, Jobe Bellingham and homegrown starlet Chris Rigg have all snaffled the headlines in recent weeks, yet it is the relentless energy of left-back Dennis Cirkin that has stolen the hearts of supporters.

Born in Dublin to parents from Latvia, the 22-year-old was raised in London and came through the ranks at Tottenham before joining the Wearsiders in 2021.

He was a regular in the team that won promotion from League One in his first season and scored five goals in 28 Championship appearances as Tony Mowbray’s men gatecrashed the play-offs the following year.

Largely under-appreciated outside the Stadium of Light, Cirkin’s value became clear last season, when a succession of injuries restricted him to eight appearances and Sunderland’s results nosedived.

Several other factors, from the absence of a functional centre-forward to a lack of stability in the dugout, contributed to their struggles. Defensively, they remained relatively tight, and actually shipped fewer goals than the previous year.

But as the likes of Leo Hjelde, Callum Styles and Aji Alese toiled at left-back, it grew increasingly obvious that Sunderland missed the balance, aggression and offensive running power Cirkin provided.