Rees Greenwood, a former player for Sunderland, has disclosed information about a transfer deal that was rejected by former manager David Moyes and hampered the attacker’s long-term growth.
Early Sunderland signings saw the winger rise to the outskirts of the first team under Sam Allardyce, who in 2016 gave Greenwood his Premier League debut against Watford.
The Winlaton-born forward made appearances for England’s under-20 team that same year alongside Harry Winks and Marcus Rashford. Allardyce, who was eager to include Greenwood and several other junior team players in the senior lineup, watched Greenwood’s development closely. All of that, though, was altered when David Moyes took over at the Academy of Light.
Greenwood told The Echo, “George Honeyman, Tommy Robson, and I were all offered first-team programs during the off-season after the Watford game. Then, when we entered the reserves changing room on the first day we were back at the Academy of Light, our names and numbers were missing.
Upon entering, the kitman announced that we were in the first-team locker facilities. Tom Beadling and the three of us were there. It was during our pre-season trip to the UK that we learned Sam was heading to England. David Moyes entered the room and informed us that we would be involved and that nothing would change.
Following Allardyce’s dismissal, Moyes signed Steven Piennar, Bryan Oviedo, Victor Anichebe, and Joleon Lescott. Moyes had previously worked with the four players at Everton, where he spent a significant amount of time. During the Moyes period, Sunderland was involved in a struggle for relegation and ultimately gave up.
That summer, he signed a ton of players, including all the former Everton players, according to Greenwood. In the course of five weeks, we were transferred from the first team dressing room back to the reserves. He lied when he said it wouldn’t have an impact on our first team training. Two weeks later, we returned with the backups.
We were deprived of numerous opportunities to go on loan, as Moyes insisted that we remain squad members. He promised that we would be included, but we weren’t; instead, we were practicing alongside the reserves and didn’t advance. When I was seventeen or eighteen, I had been playing in the reserves. I had to go out on loan after four years of playing at that level, but the club wasn’t really a good fit for young players at the time.
Though I had a great time there, the club was run terribly. Observe Embo, or Elliott Embleton. After going on loan to Blackpool, Embo returned to the first team and was promoted at the right time. It is possible that I was on loan the year prior to Sunderland’s relegation. I could have spent a year in the Championship and been on loan to Barnsley.
We were not even permitted to loan out to teams like Hartlepool. When they arrived, they would ask to take him for a month. And no, would be the response. At that age, I would have loved to play men’s football. It would have benefited me even if I had been a National League player.
In an effort to support the upcoming football players in the North East, Greenwood is currently collaborating with Carl Lawson, a former teammate from Sunderland;