Sunderland decision made with player ‘set to leave’ this summer despite option

Sunderland have made their final decision with one player set to depart the Stadium of Light this summer, according to reports.

European dream fading as Sunderland prepare for next season

Whatever happens across the final three games of a remarkable season, Sunderland can look back on their first campaign back in the Premier League with enormous pride.

Survival was secured weeks ago, a genuine European push was mounted that few predicted, and the Stadium of Light has been one of the most atmospheric venues in the division on matchday.

Regis Le Bris has built something real on Wearside, and this summer, the job of sustaining it begins in earnest.

With a trio of top flight games remaining, Sunderland sit on 47 points and are technically still in the mix for the European qualification places, though a run of damning results, including a 5-0 battering at home to Nottingham Forest, have made that unlikely.

Whether European football materialises or not, the season can only be viewed as a success, and solid foundations have been put in place for what promises to be another productive window.

The decisions facing the club are significant.

Simon Moore, Bertrand Traoré, Dennis Cirkin, Dan Neil, Niall Huggins and Zak Johnson are all out of contract this summer, with the loan of Lutsharel Geertruida also coming to its natural end.

That is a considerable amount of business to address in a single window — quite apart from identifying the reinforcements Le Bris will need to push Sunderland closer to that European conversation next term.

There are also reports that Wilson Isidor wants to leave Sunderland this summer, with star goalkeeper Robin Roefs a target for major clubs as well.

But the smaller details matter too, and one of them concerns a young goalkeeper who came through the Academy of Light and will now move on when his contract expires.

Dan Cameron ‘set to leave’ Sunderland with decision made

According to the Sunderland Echo and journalist James CopleyDan Cameron is ‘set to leave Sunderland’ this summer.

The 20-year-old signed his first professional deal at the Stadium of Light in 2024 before agreeing a one-year extension, but that contract now runs out at the end of the season and Sunderland have decided not to trigger the extension clause.

He will depart having never made a senior appearance for the club, but with a reputation that stretches well beyond the academy.

Cameron has spent recent months on loan at Hebburn Town in the Northern Premier League, where he was one of the standout goalkeepers in the division.

He kept eight clean sheets during his second stint with the club and was a key figure in their push for promotion, earning glowing reviews from Hebburn boss Daniel Moore in the process.

Cameron then went out on loan to Boston United, climbing two divisions and featuring regularly.

League Two clubs have been monitoring his development, and teams towards the lower end of the EFL fourth tier are rumoured to be considering a move when he becomes available.

He has been part of Sunderland’s setup since the under-10 age groups, and leaves with the goodwill of a club that nurtured him through the ranks this last decade.

Cameron’s departure is hardly a crisis for a club with Anthony Patterson and Roefs locked down on long-term contracts as their senior goalkeeping options.

However, it serves as a reminder that even at Sunderland, where the trajectory is pointing resolutely upwards, the summer brings difficult conversations as well as exciting ones.