Sunderland’s Dan Ballard has attracted the attention of David Moyes and West Ham United according to reports. The Northern Ireland defender signed for Sunderland last summer from Arsenal but could be on his way back to London after just one season away.
Ballard has been a force in the backline for Tony Mowbray’s side, helping guide them into play-off contention midway through the season. But injuries curtailed his end to the campaign, with a hamstring injury – sustained in late-March on international duty - keeping him out for the rest of the season.
Ballard featured just 19 times in the Championship, in an injury hit first season on Wearside. Sunderland missed his presence in their play-off semi-final defeat to Luton, as they had no available central defenders, leaving them exposed to Luton’s direct playing style.
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Despite the injuries, the Sun report that West Ham sent scouts to watch Ballard in Northern Ireland’s European qualifier against Finland before he got injured.
Ballard is not the only player with interest from the top flight, with Jack Clarke the subject of a £7million bid from newly promoted Burnley. The key to keeping Ballard and other players may be the man in charge of Sunderland, Tony Mowbray has been lauded for his man management skills in the past. Ballard spoke to the Athletic only last week about Mowbray’s qualities.
“We all feel like he’s backing us and he gives us that confidence to play freely. The football we played is really good to watch. He knows we’ve got great young technical players and he plays to our strengths.
“Last year maybe surprised us, as the play-offs wasn’t probably in our plans, but the football we played and the talent we have is exciting. Hopefully we keep hold of the players we have and add another couple.”
It would be difficult for the Black Cats to stop any of their players from being attracted to Premier League clubs this summer, and especially as – in Ballard’s case - West Ham can offer Europa League football next season too.
