Sunderland are still sweating on the fitness of defender Daniel Ballard after he was declared unfit to play in the World Cup qualifiers in Northern Ireland and Italy.
The 26-year-old has been sidelined since picking up the injury in the 1-0 defeat by Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League on March 14.
Ballard will be desperate to miss his country’s 2-0 semi-final defeat by Italy last Thursday, ending Northern Ireland’s World Cup chances.
From a selfish perspective for the Black Cats, that means the defender will not play much football in the summer before the start of the 2026/27 campaign and will have a full pre-season with his club.
That strengthens Regis Le Bris and his team because the Arsenal defender has been in good form in the Premier League this season.
Analyzing Dan Ballard’s early career in the Premier League
Ballard signed for Sunderland from Arsenal in the summer of 2022, when the Black Cats were in the Championship, and had never played a game in the Premier League at the time.
His lack of experience at the top level meant it was difficult to assess whether he would be able to handle the move with quality, but the Northern Irishman’s ferocity has been a landmark for Le Bris this season.
The 26-year-old star, who scored two goals, won 62% of his low-ball and 59% of aerial matches in the Premier League, showing that he was an outstanding defender who did not allow attackers to beat him too often.
Ballard’s rising Transfermarkt value shows how well he has adapted to the top flight. He was valued at £7m in May 2025 and that has risen to £17m at the time of writing, which is a credit to how well he has performed this season.
The Northern Ireland international is not the only talent to emerge from the Championship and make it to the Premier League, however, as another Black Cats star has become more important than a full-back.
A more important Sunderland star than Ballard
While Sunderland spent money to bring in the likes of Granit Xhaka, Brian Brobbey, Nordi Mukiele, and Chemsdine Talbi last summer, Le Bris kept his faith in some of the players who won promotion to the second tier.
Sunderland’s most expensive signing ever
Who added the record for the Black Cats?
Trai Hume is one of the heroes of the Championship, along with Ballard, who has moved up to the Premier League and impressed with his performances.
The Northern Ireland international, who played during his country’s defeat to Italy, has started 29 of the Black Cats’ top flight 31 games this season, earning a regular place in the starting XI.
Hume first joined Sunderland in January 2022 when they were in League One, signing from Linfield for just £200k. Four years on from that transfer, it’s fair to say the club hit the jackpot.
Like Ballard, the 24-year-old star has shown he can withstand the rigors of the Premier League, winning 56% of his ground contests and 50% of his aerial contests at right-back this season.
|
25/26 Premier League |
Tray Hume |
|---|---|
|
Appearance |
31 |
|
Knockdown won |
56 |
|
Victims made |
87 |
|
Duels won |
152 |
|
Ground duel success rate |
56% |
|
Aerial duel success rate |
50% |
Hume was the Black Cats’ best defender, while providing one assist, and contributing to eight clean sheets in his first 29 games.
His Transfermarkt value has increased due to his journey through the leagues with Sunderland, from League One, to the Championship, to the Premier League.
At the time of writing, Hume’s Transfermarkt value sits at around £19m. That’s 9,400% more than the £200k the club paid Linfield to sign him in 2022 and £2m more than Ballard’s current fee.
It shows that Sunderland struck gold when they snapped up the young Northern Irish defender during their time in League One, as he has continued to prove himself as a talented player in the Premier League over four years.
Ballard and Hume are living proof that clubs don’t need to spend more than £10m on every signing for top players, as there are deals to be made.
The £2m sacked Sunderland looked “better” than Clarke, now he’s done
Sunderland may need to cut a few players this summer to continue their rise under Regis Le Bris.
