West Brom and Coventry City had Sunderland’s Luke O’Nien on their radar this month, but he is happy to remain with the Black Cats, as reported by The Sunderland Echo.
West Brom have had a season well below expectations, with performances falling well short of Championship pace. Defeat against Leicester City on Monday evening proved to be the final blow for Ryan Mason, who was relieved of his duties as Baggies boss.
The club took swift action in their search for a successor Eric Ramsay would take over. Attention now turns back to the January window, although both West Brom and Coventry City appear to be missing a key target.
Both clubs were aiming for a transfer for Sunderland favorite Luke O’Nien. However, O’Nien was asked about his future after SAFC’s FA Cup win over Everton by The Sunderland Echo.
‘I’m definitely not going anywhere, so yes, I’ll stay in Sunderland’ said O’Nien.
Birmingham City were also linked with a move for O’Nien, but that was quickly sidelined. However, WBA and Coventry City had remained in the mix.
O’Nien’s thoughts on his supporting role at Sunderland
The win over Everton was O’Nien’s first start of the season for SAFC. He played all 120 minutes and even scored the winning penalty at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
However, O’Nien has only played ten minutes of Premier League action, which had sparked speculation about his future. However, he seems content with playing his role behind the scenes at the Stadium of Light.
About this O’Nien said: “Listen, I have a lot of stuff. I listen to the club and I have to keep improving. I have to keep pushing the people in front of me and I’m really enjoying my life.
“During today’s game I was looking at the players on the bench, looking for advice, and we’re all trying to pull in the same direction here and success in different positions looks different.
“I spoke to upstairs and they are very clear about the direction they want to go and I was very grateful that they wanted to take me on that journey.
“I’m exactly in line with what the owner, the sporting directors and the whole team want. I’m going to keep pushing, people are going to push me, we’re all going to push each other, and we’re going to keep moving in that right direction.”
Sunderland statistics by Luke O’Nien
It is clear to see that O’Nien still feels valued at Sunderland despite the major overhaul in the summer. In a defensive unit made up of several big-money signings, the man signed from Wycombe Wanderers in League One in 2018 is still highly rated.
The Black Cats are currently tenth in the Premier League, just five points off the Champions League spot.
Where do WBA and Coventry City go from here?
Coventry City was already particularly active in January. They are not resting on their laurels despite being at the top of the table, with two strikers, Yang Min-hyeok and Romain Esse.
However, they are not done yet and are apparently looking at defensive options such as O’Nien. However, no other names have surfaced yet in terms of defenders.
West Brom are in the same boat in that regard, but they haven’t done any business yet. However, the Baggies are still focused on appointing Ramsay as boss.
O’Nien isn’t the only Sunderland man both clubs are missing out on. Former captain Dan Neil was wanted by both but it appears he is heading north to Rangers.
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