Sunderland defender Tom Flanagan is set to be the subject of a tug-of-war between two clubs primed to play in the Championship next season.
The Northern Echo reported that Coventry and Birmingham are both set to make offers to the 28-year-old, whose contract at the Stadium of Light will expire on Tuesday. The centre-back has been been offered a new deal by the Wearside club but he has yet to make a decision on his immediate future.
Northern Ireland international Flanagan came to Sunderland from Burton Albion in 2018 and has played 64 times for the Black Cats, scoring four times for the club.
He had struggled for regular game-time under Jack Ross earlier in the 2019/20 season but managed to forge his way into the first choice XI under current Wearsiders boss Phil Parkinson, with two goals in his 22 appearances during the most recent campaign.
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The defender is among a plethora of Sunderland players who are due to leave the club next week upon expiry of their contracts – and he is among a multitude of centre-backs on that list. As per Chronicle Live, Alim Ozturk and Joel Lynch are also bound for the Stadium of Light exit door, while Jack Baldwin is also set to depart Sunderland (as per TransferMarkt).
If Flanagan, Ozturk and Lynch all leave at the end of the month, that would leave Jordan Willis as the only recognised centre-back in Sunderland’s squad.
That is not a situation in which Parkinson will want to find himself as he tries to assemble a squad that can finally get out of League One, so hopefully the Northern Ireland defender can be persuaded to stay on Wearside. The lure of the Championship next season may prove too strong, though.
Sunderland fans, do you think Flanagan will stay or is he exit-bound? Have your say by commenting below!
