The Black Cats are stuttering in League One as they look to finally achieve promotion at the fourth time of asking this season.
A lot of that may come down to recruitment in the January window which will also be important in terms of replacing some of Sunderland’s current squad.
As it stands, over half of Johnson’s current squad are set to see their time at the Stadium of Light come to an end in the summer of 2022 including loan stars who are all set to return to their parent clubs,
It means the Black Cats could face another huge summer of upheaval should they not be able to achieve their promotion goal.
Here we look at the contract situation of every member of the Black Cats first team squad and how long they have left on Wearside.
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1. Ron-Thorben Hoffmann - June 30, 2022
Hoffmann arrived on a season long loan from Bayern Munich and has made the number one spot on Wearside his own. The German's deal runs until June next year. Picture by FRANK REID Photo: FRANK REID 2021
2. Lee Burge - June 2022
Burge joined the club in 2019 from Coventry City and has made seven appearances this season after being first choice last year with 46 appearances. Picture by FRANK REID Photo: FRANK REID 2021
3. Frederik Alves - May 31, 2022
Alves joined the Black Cats on-loan from West Ham United and the 22-year-old has made eight appearances so far this season. Alves will return to the Premier League club next summer. Picture by FRANK REID Photo: COPYRIGHT (C) FRANK REID 20187
4. Arbenit Xhemajli - June 30, 2022
Xhemajli has spent the majority of his time on Wearside struggling with injury but will be hoping to prove his worth over the final seven months of his contract. Picture by FRANK REID Photo: FRANK REID 2021