(Credit: Getty)

Oliver Walton

Fri 8 August 2025 15:22, UK

Tottenham could be set to bring back former player Dennis Cirkin as Sunderland aim to bring in more left-back competition this summer.

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Sunderland sealed promotion to the Premier League last season in the play-off final, and they have been seriously busy in the summer window with numerous high-profile players signed so far.

The biggest story of their off-season has been the capture of Bayer Leverkusen and former Arsenal star Granit Xhaka, while Simon Adingra has joined from Brighton and the Black Cats broke their transfer record to bring in Habib Diarra from Strasbourg.

Regis Le Bris has also moved to bolster his left-back depth, with Reinildo Mandava signing at the Stadium of Light after he left Atletico Madrid, but he could be about to force promotion hero Dennis Cirkin out of the club with another player lined up to arrive in his position.

Thomas Frank is trying to overhaul Tottenham (Credit: Imago)

23-year-old Cirkin made 39 appearances in the second-tier from left-back last term, and was one of the standout defenders across the division as he registered three goals and two assists.

He has seen competition for minutes arrive in the form of Reinildo, which was understandable given Le Bris’ lack of depth, yet the Black Cats are seemingly not done there with Fabrizio Romano (8 August) reporting that Sunderland have agreed a deal to sign former West Ham man Masuaku.

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According to his post on X, the 31-year-old is due to sign a two year deal on Wearside, with his medical set to be completed soon.

That move looks all but done, but it presents a surprising quandary for Cirkin that he would not have expected to face back in May when he helped the Black Cats over the line at Wembley.

The England youth international will likely be third choice behind both of Sunderland’s new recruits if he sticks around for their Premier League return, and so his potential availability could see a deal struck with Spurs to take him back to North London in the coming weeks.

AppearancesGoalsAssists11686Cirkin’s Sunderland career stats

Cirkin was linked with a return to Tottenham back in June, with Football London claiming that the club had previously considered re-signing him due to their need for more club-trained players to comply with UEFA’s squad rules.

Spurs are believed to be in line for a sell-on fee for the 23-year-old if he does leave the Black Cats this summer, meaning they would, in turn, be able to sign him for cheaper than his market value.

His ties with the club date all the way back to his time in Tottenham’s youth set-up, which he left in 2021 to join Sunderland, and so convincing him to return would surely be easy for Thomas Frank, who is in dire need of a new left-back with the injured Destiny Udogie and aging Ben Davies as his only two recognised senior options in that position right now.

It certainly comes as a surprise to see the Black Cats being set to make two left-back additions this summer, despite it not being a particular position of weakness while they were in the Championship.

Regis Le Bris is clearly not waiting around for transfers to happen, however, with a number of new players already through the door, but the potential capture of Masuaku feels somewhat of a waste of a deal after Reinildo’s previous arrival.

The former Atletico man has joined Sunderland with extensive La Liga and European experience under hie belt, and even at 31, he is sure to be a regular starter in the upcoming campaign.

Cirkin does not have that experience of playing at the top level, but would be a fine understudy to the Mozambique international for a few seasons, then likely progressing to be first-choice in his own right.

By signing Masuaku, who last played in the Premier League in 2022 and is 32 in November, Le Bris would be blocking what could have been a hugely fruitful path with Cirkin developing at a decent rate, and bringing in the ex-West Ham man does seem like a strange move on the whole.

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