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The crying game: Michael Dawson of Hull City, left, Patrick Bamford of Middlesbrough, centre, and Sunderland’s Jermain Defoe face the realisation of relegation.
The crying game: Michael Dawson of Hull City, left, Patrick Bamford of Middlesbrough, centre, and Sunderland’s Jermain Defoe face the realisation of relegation. Composite: Getty Images; AMA/Getty Images; BPI/Rex/Shutterstock
The crying game: Michael Dawson of Hull City, left, Patrick Bamford of Middlesbrough, centre, and Sunderland’s Jermain Defoe face the realisation of relegation. Composite: Getty Images; AMA/Getty Images; BPI/Rex/Shutterstock

What next for Championship-bound Hull, Middlesbrough and Sunderland?

This article is more than 6 years old
Managers and players of the Premier League’s three relegated clubs face an uncertain future but parachute payments make an instant return the target

Hull City

Will the manager be there next season?

Unlikely. By embellishing an impressive record in Portugal and Greece Marco Silva’s haul of 21 points from 17 games in charge in East Yorkshire has made the Portuguese hot property. Southampton, Watford, West Ham United, Internazionale and Porto are among the many admirers of a manager who will meet the Allam family, Hull’s owners, this week to discuss his future before the final game at home against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. Silva, 39, arrived on a six-month deal in January with an option to extend it for 12 months but that clause seems unlikely to be triggered.

Which players will be sought after? Is there any chance they might stay?

Harry Maguire, the player of the season, has shone at centre-half and is much coveted, most notably by Newcastle United’s Rafael Benítez. Tellingly, Maguire is stalling on a new contract. Sam Clucas, impressive in midfield all season and reputedly not too far off an England call-up, could also depart along with Eldin Jakupovic, the goalkeeper, and left-back Andrew Robertson. Liverpool have wanted Robertson for some time and it seems Jürgen Klopp will now get his man. Much hinges on the identity of the next manager – and, indeed, Hull’s ownership – next season but no one expects Maguire or Robertson, in particular, to stick around.

Will that leave a squad capable of promotion?

No, most definitely not. Hull sold arguably their two best players – Robert Snodgrass and Jake Livermore for a collective £20m – in January and, of Silva’s eight signings, five came in on loan. With the loanees scheduled to return to their parent clubs, a squad which has been skinny all season looks skeletal.

Will there be money to spend?

Who knows? Hull will receive £47m in parachute payments next season and £38m in 2018-19 (had they been in the Premier League for more than a single year they would also have been due a third instalment of £17m, in 2019‑20) and they could raise a further sum in the region of £30m from potential player sales. But, and it is a big but, no one knows how much of it the Allams will be minded to spend. The owners, who are £7.7m in profit on player trading this season, want to sell up but assorted sets of negotiations, mainly with Chinese consortiums, have collapsed. This, remember, is a club which had only nine fit senior players available for a pre‑season training camp in Austria last summer.

Middlesbrough

Will the manager be there next season?

Almost certainly not. Steve Agnew became the sacked Aitor Karanka’s interim replacement in March but has won only one of 10 games. In a weekend radio interview the chairman, Steve Gibson, hinted at extensive changes within the club – thought to include the manager. Nigel Pearson, Alan Pardew, Garry Monk and Ryan Giggs could all be in the frame as may David Wagner, should Huddersfield fail to secure promotion. Situated in the middle of attractive countryside and adjacent to a five‑star spa hotel, Boro’s well-appointed training ground possesses decent pulling power. Agnew is expected to remain at Middlesbrough, reverting to his former coaching role.

Which players will be sought after? Is there any chance they might stay?

Ben Gibson commands a sizeable fan club and the centre-half has recently been the subject of £30m transfer speculation. In the immediate aftermath of relegation Gibson, the chairman’s nephew, said he wanted to stay put but that may have been emotion talking and seems unlikely. Victor Valdés will not stick around, Brad Guzan is returning to the United States and the loanees Álvaro Negredo and Calum Chambers will return to Valencia and Arsenal respectively.

Will that leave a squad capable of promotion?

A few additions are required but, broadly, yes, the nucleus of a promotion challenging squad should remain intact. Gibson certainly thinks so. “The only place I want to be is the Premier League,” said Boro’s chairman at the weekend. “We’re in a good financial position. We should have more resources going into next season than any other Championship club. We want to smash the league. We want to go up as champions. We have a core of players we feel are more than capable. We just need to add more flair and more pace.” George Friend, Fabio da Silva, Dani Ayala, Adam Clayton, Adam Forshaw, Grant Leadbitter, Stewart Downing, Patrick Bamford and Rudy Gestede should again prosper in a familiar second-tier habitat.

Will there be money to spend?

Most definitely. The club is already on a sound financial footing and, as with Hull and Sunderland, £47m worth of parachute payments are heading Boro’s way next season alone. Gibson’s prediction about “smashing the division” would not have been made lightly.

Sunderland

Will the manager be there next season?

It is still unclear. The majority of Sunderland fans have made it plain they want David Moyes gone but Ellis Short, the club’s owner, has indicated the manager retains his full support. Moyes suggests he will stay providing he is offered adequate funds to oversee a radical squad rebuild. Short has been pondering his proposed blueprint and the pair are due to meet early next week at the latest to see if they can reach an agreement. Should Moyes remain at the helm, the hostility towards him on Wearside is such that he will surely need a strong start to the season in order to survive longer term. Matters are complicated by Short’s disinclination to invest in a big pay-off, allied to the loss of face involved in sacking a manager he succeeded in recruiting at the fifth attempt.

Which players will be sought after? Is there any chance they might stay?

Jordan Pickford is an outstanding young goalkeeper possessing brilliant footwork and Everton head the lengthy queue to sign him. Sunderland want £30m but may have to settle for a bit less. It would be a major surprise were Pickford to stick around and the same goes for Jermain Defoe, whose contract contains a clause permitting the 34-year-old England striker to leave on a free transfer this summer. Lamine Koné, disappointing lately but a decent centre-half who provoked an £18m bid from Everton last summer, will also be off. The same goes for Fabio Borini, Vito Mannone and Wahbi Khazri. Three loanees will return to their parent clubs while at least four of Sunderland’s seven out-of-contract players, most notably Jan Kirchhoff, should also depart.

Will that leave a squad capable of promotion?

No way. As with Hull, there are concerns that, without significant investment in new players, Sunderland could drop straight down to League One, which is why Moyes is demanding that Short speculate to accumulate in order to facilitate an immediate promotion challenge. The club’s under-23s contest the final of the Premier League’s International Cup against Porto on Wednesday night but, despite their promise, Moyes does not believe too many of those youngsters are ready for the rigours of Championship combat.

Will there be money to spend?

Good question. Generous parachute payments over the next three years – starting with that £47m next season – will cushion the blow and all Sunderland players bar the £60,000-a-week Jack Rodwell have relegation clauses in their contracts, automatically reducing their wages by 40%, but the club remain around £110m in debt. Moreover, given their £84m wage bill was among the Premier League’s top 10 it will still be high for the second tier. A billionaire American financier, Short has dipped into his personal fortune to keep Sunderland afloat in recent years but is reluctant to keep spending and wants to sell up.

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