"£15m-£20m" - Sunderland AFC: Dan Ballard transfer claim issued as Premier League clubs circle | OneFootball

We asked our Sunderland fan pundit about Premier League transfer interest in Dan Ballard

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Sunderland have been told to demand a transfer fee of around "£15million to £20million" for defender Dan Ballard amid interest from Premier League clubs.

It's been reported that Ballard is attracting interest from the likes of Aston Villa, Brighton, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Wolves and even bitter rivals Newcastle United thanks to his impressive performances this season, and Sunderland look set to have a battle on their hands to keep him.

The Northern Ireland international has played an important role for the Black Cats this season since returning from injury, and his age coupled with his performances make him an attractive target for Premier League clubs.

Regis Le Bris will certainly be keen to keep him at the club, and losing him in January could be a huge blow to their promotion hopes and would disappoint supporters, particularly if he moved to rivals Newcastle United.

Sunderland told to demand substantial fee for Dan Ballard

We asked our Sunderland fan pundit, Jack Austwicke, about the interest Ballard has received from top-flight clubs, and he believes that the club should demand a substantial fee for the Northern Irishman, although he thinks a January exit is not likely.

Speaking to Football League World, Jack said: "He’s going to be a man in demand. He’s a young British centre-back who’s performing at a decent level in the Championship.

“I don’t want to sell to Newcastle because if they did, they (Sunderland’s board) would have blood on their hands and a lot to answer for.

"A lot of fans are just starting to come round to the new ownership, so doing that would be a huge step-back, so I don’t think they’d do that.

“I don’t think he’ll go in January to anyone regardless, but we could see him go in the summer, just hopefully not Newcastle, but the £15million to £20million price-tag seems about fair for Dan Ballard, a young British centre-back performing well in the Championship. We’ve seen it before with Harry Maguire and Souttar to Leicester. He’s not English, but you get the idea.

“I think it will be about that range."

Selling Dan Ballard to Newcastle United would be a hugely unpopular call

The rivalry between Sunderland and Newcastle is one of the most fierce in English football, and the Black Cats selling one of their prized assets to their biggest rivals would not go down well.

Unfortunately for Championship clubs, they are often left with no option but to sell to Premier League clubs, and that could well be the case with Ballard, but they must ensure that if he's sold it's not to Newcastle United.

Sunderland should wait until the end of the season before deciding whether to sell as they're in the mix for promotion, and selling in January would be a big blow to their Premier League hopes and a risk that's not worth the substantial transfer fee.

Ballard is contracted until the summer of 2028, so there's absolutely no reason to cash in on him just yet, and supporters will desperately hope that if he does leave the club, it won't be to join Newcastle.