Black Cats must bank what they can to fund their squad overhaul

WITH Sunderland’s ailing finances no secret, whoever steps in to replace David Moyes at the Stadium of Light has a real task on his hands.

For most, the Black Cats’ goal will be to secure an immediate return to the Premier League, but the new manager will have a major rebuilding job to do.

A complete squad overhaul is needed, but the new boss will need to sell in order to boost the funds he can then spend on incomings.

Many report this situation will put most people off the role on Wearside, but a quick glance reveals that raising funds shouldn’t be too difficult.

The Black Cats may lose Jermain Defoe for nothing, but they still have enough sellable assets to make around £50million this summer.

Whats more, they can raise that while still keeping a good base of players from whom to build upon.

If a new boss can come in and use whatever funds are made available from player sales wisely, then a straight return to the top flight is possible.

Here’s a list of the Black Cats’ sellable assets.

While many fans would love to keep the Washingtonborn academy graduate, Pickford is the player who’s going to make the Black Cats their money this summer.

At 22 and contracted until 2020, Sunderland’s position is strong with most top sides interested.

Before leaving, Moyes confirmed the club would be looking for around £30m, which is not unreasonable.

Consider the price of young English players is inflated because of needs to meet home-grown player standards, and Sunderland have a right to charge so much.

Think of players such as Jordan Henderson and Andy Carroll who moved for so much, and that was before the new TV deal inflated transfer fees further. Sunderland won’t make their money back on the £11million they paid two years ago for Dutchman Lens. However, he’s had a great season on loan at Fenerbahce. They want to make that permanent but are struggling with Sund e r l a n d ’s v a l u a t i o n . But the Black Cats are in a strong position, with reports suggesting Galatasaray, Besiktas and Trapzonspor are interested. Feyenoord are also taking a look too.

Sunderland could therefore start a bidding war off and can expect to make around £5m from his sale. Agent Roberto de Fanti has already confirmed Mannone and fellow client Fabio Borini will leave this summer. The goalkeeper appeared to say goodbye to fans after the final home game. Mannone played second fiddle to Pickford for much of the campaign, but will be fondly remebered for his heroics in helping the Black Cats reach the League Cup final in 2014. He’d like to stay in England, but most likely is a return to Italy. Sunderland can £2-4m from his sale. expect around As noted above, Borini is looking to leave this summer after relegation. The forward might have had a successful loan spell at Sunderland in 2013-14 but he has not been matched since joining permanently. Celtic have been credited with interest, while Italian sides are likely to take an