What a difference a year makes. The news that Bailey Wright has signed a new two-year contract on Wearside means Sunderland are three-for-three - the trio of out-of-contract players offered new deals have all committed their futures to the club.
Academy graduate Lynden Gooch was first out of the traps when he signed a two-year deal in the middle of last week, with Patrick Roberts doing likewise last weekend having initially signed a short-term deal when he arrived from Manchester City in January, and after returning from international duty with Australia Wright has now signed up. Contrast that to the situation exactly 12 months ago, when Aiden McGeady was the only one of four players offered new terms to have re-signed for what, in his case, turned out to be a final hurrah.
Luke O'Nien followed suit in early July. But academy graduate Denver Hume hedged his bets until September before eventually signing the deal that had been left on the table, and it always felt like a shotgun marriage so it was no surprise when he was sold to Portsmouth in January having played only a handful of games in the first half of the season.
