Tottenham Hotspur have been linked with a surprise move for their former academy gem Dennis Cirkin, according to The Sun's Alan Nixon...

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The 20-year-old defender only left the Premier League outfit last summer but has caught the eye for Sunderland since then, being a key part of their promotion to the Championship.

His return from injury has sparked Spurs into monitoring his progress heading into the January transfer window, where they could re-sign him for as little as £6m due to a buy-back clause, which is thought to be valid until the summer of 2024, as per the Sunderland Echo.

Bring Cirkin home to Hotspur Way

It was perhaps a premature decision to let the England U20 international depart the club permanently considering his potential but that said, it would be wise to bring him back in the near future before it's too late.

The 6-foot dynamo came through the Hotspur Way academy after moving to London from Ireland at the age of just three. Between 2019 and 2021, Cirkin made the first-team bench on five occasions and was clearly well admired, if not loved, by ex-manager Jose Mourinho.

"OK, he’s 17, but he’s a kid with a lot of quality, and I look forward to bringing him to train with us, and to help his development," explained the 'Special One' just two weeks after his appointment in north London.

Meanwhile, The Athletic's Charlie Eccleshare compared him to Ben Chilwell and described the then-teen as an "athletic" full-back in the "modern" mould. Perhaps he could return and then emerge as the club's next Danny Rose, who was once valued at a whopping £50m by another former boss, Mauricio Pochettino.

Indeed, Cirkin has impressed at the Stadium of Light, where he has racked up 49 appearances, including eight in the Championship this term, as per Transfermarkt.

The man to sign him, Lee Johnson, described the left-back as a "top talent" and "highly-regarded" upon his arrival, whilst Black Cats legend Kevin Phillips has been equally impressed, as he lauded the 20-year-old to Football Insider:

"He is young, has a great left foot and bombs forward. You can see that he is not afraid to get crosses in and have a shot as well. Defensively, which is key for me, he’s very good as well."

Therefore, it's no wonder the recruitment team at Spurs are taking another invested interest in Cirkin, so sporting director Fabio Paratici must bring him back as he could well unearth the club's next £50m talent, all for the small fee of £6m - even if he could've still been at the club.

AND in other news, Paratici could form scary Spurs duo by signing £35m "prodigy", imagine him and Romero...