Report: Sunderland star set for 2027 exit

Brian Brobbey’s stock has risen sharply after his hat-trick at the Etihad, and Tottenham are among the clubs now being linked with a future move for the Sunderland striker.

The 24-year-old scored all three of Sunderland’s goals in a 5-3 defeat to Manchester City, becoming the first Sunderland player to score a Premier League hat-trick since 2016.

It was also only the sixth time in Premier League history that a player had scored a treble and still finished on the losing side.

Sunderland could struggle to resist a huge offer

Former Sunderland chief scout Mick Brown told Football Insider that the club would naturally prefer to keep Brobbey, but a sufficiently large bid could force a difficult decision.

He said:

“These types of deals are always difficult for a club like Sunderland,”

“Obviously, in an ideal world, they don’t want to lose Brobbey because he’s done an excellent job for them and his a big part of everything they’re trying to build there.

“But say a huge offer comes in tomorrow from Tottenham or somebody like that, I think they would struggle to turn that down.

“For clubs in Sunderland’s position, the decision is about whether you think you can bring in a replacement with the money you make, or if this player is irreplaceable.”

Brobbey joined Sunderland from Ajax last year for a fee reported at under £22m and finished his first Premier League campaign with seven goals in 31 appearances.

His display against City was easily his biggest statement yet. Reuters noted that he repeatedly troubled Ruben Dias and helped Sunderland record more shots on target than the league leaders despite the defeat.