Black Cats struck gold with £15k-p/w “warrior”

Sunderland have had to deal with their fair share of transfer blunders over the years as shelling out on several big flops contributed to their collapse.

The Black Cats aimlessly spent their war chest of funds in the Premier League era, acquiring a breadth of underperforming stars which included Jack Rodwell, Didier Ndong and Papy Djilobodji.

Ultimately, their deficient and lacklustre recruitment strategy returned to bite them on the back side as consecutive relegations meant a North East giant fell to the depths of League One.

While that collapse was detrimental, it allowed Sunderland to reset, recover and rebuild a squad of talented youngsters with a point to prove rather than flexing their financial muscle on overpaid prima donnas.

A revamp in strategy has oiled the wheels for their recent rise as a number of youthful talents have graced the Stadium of Light turf, none more so than Jack Clarke, Jobe Bellingham and Dan Ballard, a young centre-back that Alex Neil acquired permanently in the summer of 2022.

How much did Sunderland pay for Dan Ballard?

Sunderland signed Ballard on a permanent deal for a fee in the region of £2m from Arsenal.

A graduate of the Gunners youth academy, who joined the club at the age of eight, the towering centre-back made a rapid rise up the underage groups but has previously spoken about the struggles that held him back.

He told SunSport: “As I was growing up in the younger age groups, I was a late developer. Even at 18, I still wasn’t a centre-back because I wasn’t tall enough.

“I was one of the slowest, couldn’t move my legs and I wasn’t a technically gifted player. Yet I’ve always been naturally good at defending.”

Ballard showcased a level of maturity and defensive prowess across two loan spells. First, he helped Blackpool win promotion from League One and then he played a major part in Millwall’s surprise challenge for a play-off spot in 2021/22.

In the latter of those campaigns, the Northern Irishman reined in the plaudits for his exceptional defensive work as Gary Rowett praised him for his “fabulous pedigree”.

A claim that was backed up by how he stood up against his positional peers in the Championship, ranking in the top 4% for passes blocked, the top 15% for tackles won and the top 25% for aerials won, as per FBref.

From those metrics alone, Sunderland knew they were getting a defender who would put his body on the line for the sake of his team and those attributes have only become more prevalent since moving to the North East.

What is Dan Ballard worth now?

In an injury-hit first season on Wearside, Ballard featured just 19 times in the Championship, missing his presence in the play-off semi-final defeat against Luton Town, as they had no available central defenders, leaving them exposed to the Hatters’ direct playing style.

Despite the injuries, the 24-year-old has only reaffirmed those defensive qualities that were so prevalent at the Den and has been subject to Premier League interest from West Ham, according to reports.

With his fee predicted to be over £20m, as per one fan pundit, the defensive “diamond” and “warrior” – as lauded by Tony Mowbray – is an imperious presence at the back for Sunderland and has clearly shown he’s worth that prospective value.

In 11 Championship matches this term, Ballard has weighed in with some tremendous defensive work and has only been dribbled past 0.3 times per game, averaged 5.5 balls recovered, 1.5 tackles and helped his side keep four clean sheets, as per Sofascore.

It is clear to see why the Hammers have displayed an interest in the Northern Ireland international given he’s a no-nonsense defender who thrives in winning the physical battle against his attackers.

Ballard recently put on the captain’s armband for Northern Ireland for the very first time and described the moment as “overwhelming”, with Sunderland expected to make huge profits on their initial £2m investment, if he departs.