Sunderland sporting director Kristjaan Speakman has been discussing the prospect of sales

Sunderland sporting director Kristjaan Speakman has admitted that player sales are the “by-products of success” for the club’s oft-heralded recruitment model.

The Black Cats have made a habit of signing promising young players with high potential resale values in recent seasons, and are seemingly reaping the rewards of that approach having qualified for the Championship play-offs twice in the past three years.

As a consequence of Sunderland’s continued progress, however, a number of key players continue to be linked with transfers away from the Stadium of Light, with the likes of Jobe Bellingham and Chris Rigg among those repeatedly touted for an exit ahead of the summer window. But Speakman has suggested that any such departures over the coming months would be testament to the Black Cats’ growth, rather than representing the sole focus of their blueprint.

What has Kristjaan Speakman said about Sunderland’s recruitment model?

Speaking on BBC Look North, Speakman said: “I think the sales are important. They are. They’re the by-products of the success, they're not the focus point. We're not trying to manufacture players to sell them. We're trying to give players an opportunity to fulfil their dream. We're trying to produce a winning team, and if you do both those things and the players are able to compete at the level, then they will have an attraction to other teams and other clubs.

“And like I've always said, there will be times where those players will move on and they'll progress. We have some that progress upwards, we have some that progress sideways, we have some that progress backwards, if you like, down the league. So that's just the environment and that's the industry we operate in. But ultimately we're about opportunity, believing in the players and trying to build a winning team. And at the minute I think we're ticking off all those boxes.”

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Speakman was also asked about Tommy Watson’s looming move to Brighton and Hove Albion, with a deal already in place that will take the academy graduate from the Stadium of Light to the south coast at the end of the campaign.

He continued: “For every player, the context is really, really different. And without getting into all the minutia of that, ultimately there's a decision that you end up coming to. I think for the staff, you spend a lot of time with these young players. So from an emotional standpoint, it's always difficult to disconnect. And players have also got a choice what they want to do and the direction that they feel that they need to go in. And like I said, some of those players, it will be with us and some of those players, it won't be with us.”

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