Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray appears to rule out move for former defender

It sounds like central defence is a position Sunderland feel pretty happy with right now.

Tony Mowbray has appeared to have all but ruled out any move for former Sunderland defender Jordan Willis.

Willis has not played for nearly two years after rupturing his patella tendon twice, initially in February 2021.

His Sunderland deal was initially extended by a year to take it to the end of last season, even though he played no part in the Black Cats’ promotion campaign.

Willis has still been welcomed back to Sunderland to continue his rehabilitation and is finally close to playing again, and the fact Mowbray managed him previously at Coventry led some to believe he could get a deal to re-join Sunderland. That, though, appears unlikely.

"I've had that conversation with Jordan and I've had that conversation with the club,” Mowbray said when asked about the chances of Willis earning a contract with Sunderland. “I didn't bring [the conversation] to a definitive end, really. He has to get fit.

"I had Jordan at Coventry City and he played right-back for me although he is big and strong and athletic enough to play in central defence as well in a back three on the right-hand side. His main attributes were his huge physical strength and speed.

"He trains with the U21s, he has never trained with the first team. It's not a call I need to make or the club needs to make at this moment.

The Sunderland squad that Willis has ahead of him now is a very different one to the one that lost him to injury.

Willis was a key member of the team when he got injured, but he would be a long way down the pe king order now. And that, according to Mowbray, is why he needs to start looking for a club where he can play.

"He's been given another month up to January to continue his rehab, and at some stage he needs to play an in-house game or get himself in a match where it is not controlled and he's not always the floater, where people are allowed to tackle him and he has to go and win headers and beat people and slide tackle, and do everything that a football match entails,” he explained.

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“I've intimated to him that, in my opinion - because I look and see what we might be doing with recruitment going forward - he needs to get himself fit and then try and find a club where he can go and play matches with the pressure, the competition, we have here.

"If we brought in another defender, for instance, would that make him the number seven or number eight choice? If [Dan] Ballard is here and Aji [Alese] is here and [Danny] Batth is here and [Bailey] Wright is here, and so on and so on.

"After being out for as long as he's been out, he needs a vehicle to show that he is fit. My suggestion to him is to get his advisors and his agent to sound people out and ask if a fit Jordan Willis is someone who could help your club.

"He could train with them for a few weeks and if they have a bounce game (behind closed doors friendly) then he could play, and they might be getting the best free transfer they will ever have.

“That's where I feel it's at. It feels a bit harsh, but I don't think we can wait for him."

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