Sunderland Must Target £11m Fenerbahce Ace After Dennis Cirkin Exit - opinion

Earlier this week, defender Dennis Cirkin announced he will be leaving Sunderland this summer upon the expiry of his contract, after five successful seasons at the Stadium of Light. 

In an emotional social media post, the former Tottenham Hotspur prospect paid tribute to Sunderland staff, players and supporters, leaving the double promotion winner with an uncertain footballing future. 

In light of Cirkin’s exit, Sunderland now need to add reinforcements to their full-back ranks, with former Atletico Madrid stalwart Reinildo Mandava now the Black Cats only senior trademark left-back.

Although Reinildo has been remarkable in his debut campaign on Wearside on a free deal after ending his four-year stint at Atletico, the 32-year-old has had injury issues this season, resulting in the Mozambique international featuring in just 25 of Sunderland’s 38 Premier League games this season. 

As a result, the Stadium of Light transfer team ought to be searching for additions to the left-back ranks of Regis Le Bris’ squad, and a current Fenerbahce talent should be on the Sunderland transfer team’s radar.

Recently, Fenerbahce left-back Archie Brown has been loosely linked with a move to the Premier League, with Sunderland and the likes of Nottingham Forest said to be interested in the Englishman. 

Brown, who is a product of Derby County’s youth academy, left Belgian side Gent for Turkish Super League giants Fenerbahce last summer for a fee in the region of £7m, despite reported interest from AC Milan. 

Within his first season in Turkey, the England youth international cemented himself as one of the finest full-backs in the division, notching five combined goal contributions in 25 Super Lig outings to help Fenerbahce to a second-place finish behind rivals Galatasaray.

In addition, Brown proved his credentials on the European stage, with a goal and two assists in four Champions League outings and one assist in seven Europa League appearances, and that experience against top-class opposition would be a welcome benefit for the Black Cats ahead of next season.

Regarding Brown’s attributes, the 24-year-old is extremely athletically gifted, with his immense pace providing an attacking threat and aiding defensively again his opposite number. 

Standing at 6’3”, Brown also has the on-pitch presence to deal with the physicality of the Premier League, with an impressive long throw to boot which would excite Sunderland frontman Brian Brobbey.

Brown remains under contract at the Turkish giants until the summer of 2028, with Fenerbahce holding the option to extend the deal for a further year, meaning that despite football statistics site FotMob listing his market value at an estimated £11m, his parent club could command a sizeable fee to part ways with the left-back. 

However, Sunderland is a footballing project that will excite some of Europe’s top talents this summer, following the newly-promoted club’s seventh-placed finish and subsequent qualification for the Europa League. 

Sunderland are astute succession planners, and Brown could potentially be an excellent long-term replacement for Reinildo, and offer cover and competition for the veteran defender next season given the highly-congested imminent fixture list.

Despite his brilliant efforts at Sunderland, Brown would certainly be an upgrade on departed Cirkin, and attracting a player of his ilk to Sunderland would be a real coup, one which the Black Cats would be remiss to pass up on.