He certainly has.. This is good news.. Sunderland winger James McClean has signed a new contract which will keep him at the Stadium of Light until summer 2015. The 22-year-old, who arrived from League of Ireland side Derry City for an initial fee of £350,000 in August 2011, has made 19 first team appearances for the Black Cats during an impressive opening season, scoring four goals. McClean made his Barclays Premier League debut in a dramatic 2-1 win over Blackburn Rovers in December 2011 - Martin O'Neill's first game as Sunderland manager - and he has since earned full international honours, picking up his first cap for the Republic of Ireland during a 1-1 draw with the Czech Republic in Dublin in February. McClean said: "I'm thrilled to be here. I'm really enjoying my football and to have earned a new contract is a dream. I'm over the moon to see my next three years with Sunderland." Sunderland manager O'Neill added: "I'm absolutely delighted that James has committed himself to the club. He's had an explosive start to his career here at Sunderland and long may it continue." Derry-born McClean began his career with local side Trojans FC before coming through the youth ranks at Derry City, making his first team debut for the Candystripes in 2008 and amassing 73 league appearances. His form for Derry City saw him selected for an 'all-star' Airtricity League XI for last summer's Dublin Super Cup before Sunderland swooped for his services in August 2011.
Excellent news - he's been really important for us since he started playing!! Glad he's signed - now hope we can get him running at people and using different tricks!!
O'Neill hails McClean after penning new Sunderland deal... then orders youngster in for training. Sunderland boss Martin O'Neill has hailed James McClean after he agreed a new three-year deal - and then ordered him in for extra training. McClean has become an instant hit at Sunderland after making his debut in O'Neill's first game in charge. Since then he has made 14 Barclays Premier League appearances, scored four goals and won his first Republic of Ireland cap. O'Neill says the new deal is McClean's reward after his emphatic arrival and he has now challenged the £350,000 summer signing from Derry City to earn another new contract. McClean's meteoric rise has come after years of hard work in the League of Ireland and the 23-year-old has taken to the additional coaching sessions O’Neill and his staff have put on at the club’s Academy of Light training ground. Connor Wickham, Jack Colback and Ji-Dong Won have also been encouraged to attend. He has also brought in former England and Leicester winger Steve Guppy, who has returned from coaching in the United States, to work one-on-one with McClean. O'Neill said: 'We have done some extra work with James and some of the younger lads and I think it is important, rather than just heading off for the afternoon. 'I had a really decent career and played in a really good team but personally I should have done more work after training. I must admit when I turned professional I was surprised at the amount of time we got in the afternoon but I think it is essential for younger players today, I really do. 'Things can be instilled in them and they have to realise this is part of their development. It is not so much physical work or running for miles, just the technical side such as improving control or trying to read play. 'I know when he was at Derry he did want to improve and he wanted to get stronger because he was a big skinny lad and he has also worked on that here. He certainly has the appetite and has not baulked at all at any of the work. 'The new contract is great news for him and he is repaying us by playing which is great news for the club because we have potentially, a top quality player in our midst who can improve and will have ti improve because teams know about him now and, as he found at Blackburn the other night, have started to double up on him because they know he is a threat. 'It is not going to be all plain sailing. He will come up against top quality full backs and teams doing that to him and he has to find ways and means to cope with these things and be able to overcome them and that is something he will have to learn. 'You don’t want to reward someone who hasn’t really deserved it. With Gabby Agbonlahor at Aston Villa for instance when I arrived he had almost left a couple of months earlier to Birmingham but that was stopped and within 18 months we had renewed his contract three times and each time he deserved it.'
McClean is a talent that deserved a new contract but let's not forget the lad is still a raw talent after all. 8 months ago 'd was playing the equivalent of blue square non league football. Today he is signing an improved contract at an EPL football club and in the FA Cup quarter final. He is only going to get better and already clubs are doubling or even trebling us on him. That will give us huge advantages in games for others to exploit. Well done SAFC and to McClean for signing a new deal.
Really like this bit of the article...shows that MON is working on improving the youngsters ...and also making sure they keep their feet on the ground and not letting them think they've already "made it".... McClean's meteoric rise has come after years of hard work in the League of Ireland and the 23-year-old has taken to the additional coaching sessions O’Neill and his staff have put on at the club’s Academy of Light training ground. Connor Wickham, Jack Colback and Ji-Dong Won have also been encouraged to attend.
JAMES McClean continues to enjoy a never ending rollercoaster ride at the Stadium of Light, but while the 22-year-old signed a new contract on Friday last, the “Black Cats” are believed to have made tentative enquiries to the “Candy Stripes” in an effort to buy-out Derry’s sell-on clause should the winger move on! ARTHUR DUFFY reports And since that deal was thrashed out with the player’s agents, Sunderland are now interested in buying-out Derry’s 15 per cent agreement given the player’s recent rise to stardom on Wearside. While the Brandywell club last night refused to discuss the approach from the “Black Cats,” it’s believed Sunderland may be prepared to pay the “Candy Stripes” an additional £500,000 up front in an effort to buy-out Derry’s 15 per cent sell-on. However, while no-one at the Brandywell was prepared to comment publicly on the issue, reliable sources have suggested that the Derry Board of Directors have opted not to get involved in the proposed negotiations. But the tentative enquiry does not come as a major shock and now that McClean is believed to have had his wages trebled as part of the new deal, Sunderland believe they potentially have a top quality player on their books, one who could well net them in excess of £10 million in a future transfer deal. And should McClean leave Sunderland bound for a top tier club for a similar figure, then Derry City would receive the tidy sum of £1.5 million as their part of the deal! In fact, the sale of the Creggan Heights man last August has proven to be hugely profitable for the Lone Moor Road club. Sunderland initially agreed a straightforward transfer fee of £350,000 with significant add-on clauses. In terms of competitive appearances, the “Black Cats” agreed to pay Derry £10,000 for every “full competitive appearance,” up to a total of £100,000 and that target has already been reached! In addition, the player’s decision to declare for the Republic of Ireland also carries additional finance for the “Candy Stripes.” Derry will receive a total of £75,000 should McClean make 15 international competitive appearances during his contract at the Stadium of Light and that figure has been broken down to three payments of £25,000 each time he makes five appearances. And . . . wait for it, there’s more . . . . should Sunderland finish in the top eight places in the Premiership this season - or any season while McClean is there - Derry would receive another £100,000 provided the winger has played in 50 per cent of the games - that’s 19 of 38 fixtures. Interestingly, the “Black Cats” currently occupy eighth place in the Premiership and if Derry were to achieve that target this season, then James would need to play in six of the remaining eight league games having already enjoyed 13 league appearances. Congratulations from O’Neill While it all makes very interesting reading for Derry, Sunderland boss Martin O’Neill was the first to congratulate the Creggan man once he put pen to paper on Friday last. “I think it’s great news for James,” said O’Neill. “He has secured improved terms and he certainly deserves that. It’s great news for the club because we believe we have potentially a top quality player in our midst,” he added. “James can improve and he will have to because the other Premier League teams now know all about him. For example, Blackburn doubled up on him in our recent defeat, knowing he would be a major threat and these are the things he will have to cope with in the foreseeable future. “We believe James is worthy of the recognition, we believe he won’t be affected by the new deal and, indeed, we hope he will go on to do brilliant things at Sunderland. “Who knows what might happen in the future, but this is an opportunity for James to play regularly and by doing so, he will be repaying us. It’s a good deal for everyone concerned because James is going to play here and, from our point of view, we would dearly like to have someone in his position to make him fight for his place. At the moment he is in the team and he deserves to be there, but he is not the type of guy who will rest on his laurels,” continued O’Neill. Describing his rise to prominence as “meteoric,” O’Neill also referred to his former club. “It’s been a meteroic rise for him as he has come from almost nowhere and I don’t mean Derry City, when saying that. I mean he’s been here for a few months sitting on the bench, but didn’t get on. “So to come in and play the game without any fear has been great. First of all, maybe he expected it but he has done fantastically well and he thoroughly deserves the new contract. It’s now very important that he continues to progress which is easier said than done,” concluded the Sunderland boss.
He is a proper winger - a good old fashioned style winger we have not seen at SAFC since the early 2000's!! (and before that since Stan Cummins!!!) I love watching McClean run at players - him and Sessegnong in the same side make us such a good attacking team! People forget how good he is defensively as well as he works his socks off to help out the left back and he looks nails as well!! I certainly wouldn't pick a fight with him (or half our side!!)
Doubt it mate, but his sum is increasing..... Seems Derry City did their homework, and pulled of a good deal..........not just the 350k most pre-summed. Could add up to a canny little amount for them....fair play.
