Sunderland move could re-ignite Jack Rodwell’s career

Manchester City midfielder Jack Rodwell looks set to move to Sunderland

According to Sky Sports, Sunderland has agreed a £10million fee with Manchester City for midfielder Jack Rodwell and talks over a five-year contract are at an advanced stage.

The 23-year-old will be looking to get his career back on track in the north east.

Potential

Rodwell moved to Manchester City from Everton in 2012 for £12million. At the time he was regarded as one of the most promising young central midfielders in the country.

He had been described as the best player to come through the Everton youth system since Wayne Rooney.

At one point Rodwell was even considered the successor to Rio Ferdinand in the England team, because of the fact he was so comfortable on the ball and could play at centre-back and in central midfield.

Injuries

Rodwell has made just ten appearances in his two seasons at the Etihad Stadium, as consistent injury problems stalled his career and development.

At Everton it was a similar story and by the time he left some Everton fans believed that the Toffees did well to get £12million for the youngster, as he never seemed to be able to stay fit long enough to develop his potential.

It has been the story of the youngster’s career ever since he made his debut for Everton at just 16 years-old. The injuries must have really taken their toll on his mental state.

Mature

Rodwell has always seemed to be mature beyond his years. He captained England at youth levels and always seemed like a leader on the pitch from an early age. Even in his early interviews at Everton he seemed to have a very mature mind-set.

Hopefully that mind-set has helped him through his injury problems and he can get his career back on track.

Competitive

It was always going to be difficult for Rodwell to establish himself in central midfield for a club with the resources of City. City had decent central midfield options last season with Fernandinho, Yaya Toure and Javi Garcia available to boss Manuel Pellegrini.

The Premier League champions have further strengthened their central midfield options this summer by bringing in Brazilian midfielder Fernando from Porto.

Even if Rodwell was fit, it was unlikely that he would be given enough game time to reach full match fitness at City. It would have taken an injury crisis at the Etihad for him to get much of a chance to impress in the Premier League next season.

First team

At this point of his career he must be desperate to get some league games under his belt and to be playing week-in-week-out. The move to the north east and Sunderland should provide the midfielder with regular first team football.

Black Cats boss Gus Poyet is a man that likes his teams to play passing football and Rodwell should fit into his philosophy perfectly. He could become a key player and start to fulfil his potential if he can stay injury-free.

Gamble

Sunderland are taking a massive gamble signing Rodwell for the mooted fee, as £10million is a lot to pay for a player with such a terrible injury record. He is still a player with immense potential, but that is only if he can avoid those dreaded injuries, which has seemed unlikely in recent seasons.

Future

Jack Rodwell was one of the most promising English players of his generation, yet his career has stalled in the past few seasons. The 23-year-old will be hoping that a move to Sunderland will help him re-kindle his career.

I just hope that Rodwell can kick-start his career at Sunderland, because it would be a crying shame for a player with the potential talent of Rodwell to lose the best years of his career through injuries and lack of first team action.

Is Jack Rodwell moving to Sunderland a good move?