Dan Ballard opens up on West Ham links and his new Sunderland deal
Sunderland's Dan Ballard says he wasn't reading into reported interest from West Ham too much this summer.
Ballard, 23, saw his maiden season at Sunderland blighted by injury. The former Arsenal man was limited to just 19 appearances but in those outings, he thoroughly impressed, catching the eye of Premier League outfit West Ham.
The Hammers' interest lingered throughout the summer but never progressed past the rumour stage.
And last week, Sunderland Nation exclusively revealed that Sunderland were in talks to renew Ballard's stay at the club, before it was announced that the Northern Ireland international had in fact signed a new deal, extending his stay until 2027.
And speaking in an honest interview with The Northern Echo, Ballard has discussed the previous interest from West Ham, saying:
"I don’t really pay too much interest. I think you probably would if they come in and really try to disrupt things but that wasn’t the case.
"I was focusing on getting back fit and doing my pre-season so there wasn’t really any time to think about that and I was just happy and enjoying playing football."
And on his new deal, Ballard said:
"It's exciting I can stay a little longer and commit my future to the club. They gave me an opportunity last year to come and play and I feel it's only right to repay them with good performances and try to help out as much as possible."
Ballard made his return from injury in the opening game of this season, starting at centre-back alongside Luke O'Nien.
It looks like Ballard will be a regular starter for Tony Mowbray's side this season and he could have a few different centre pairings with O'Nien bound to play in various roles.
The likes of Nectarios Triantis and Jenson Seelt could well partner Ballard at some point.
Sunderland face Crewe Alexandra in the EFL Cup tonight.
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