Have Sunderland dropped the ball with Williams Kokolo?
That will be the question asked with the 19-year-old left-back leaving the club officially at the end of the season. Officially that is, because Kokolo has already agreed a two-year deal with Middlesbrough, which will start from July 1.
As is customary for academy players told they will not be offered a new deal though, Frenchman Kokolo was allowed time to go and train with other club on trial, and having found one, Sunderland are allowing him to train with Boro early to allow him to settle at his new club.
But when Sunderland told the youngster he was free to find a new club from next season, they can’t have expected the level of interest there would be, which does make you wonder if they have made a mistake in not keeping hold of the versatile full-back.
According to reports, Kokolo had offers for trials at a number of prestigious clubs before accepting Middlesbrough’s offer, allowing to stay in the north east.
The trial offers include Bayern Munich, St Gallen, Fulham, Napoli and West Ham - currently managed by former Sunderland boss David Moyes, who could have been aware of the youngster, with his arrival at Sunderland coming in the summer that Moyes resigned after relegation from the Premier League.
That was 2017, when Kokolo first moved to Wearside as a 16-year-old, having been in Monaco’s academy previously.
He has been a regular for the under-23s this season, although their misfortunes have been well documented, with academy boss Paul Reid looking to shake things up to try and get the older academy sides back on track.
But judging by interest in Kokolo, this could become one decision Sunderland regret. Although he didn’t make a first team appearance for Sunderland, he did play nine games during a short-term youth loan spell at Darlington last season.
