Locked In: Analysing Sunderland’s Europa League Squad

So we finally have it, the first Sunderland squad to play in Europe for 53 years and the first to play in the new format of a true UEFA league phase campaign. Due to the restrictions UEFA squad rules have in place, Sunderland were always going to struggle getting a full 25-man squad named and that means some players were naturally going to miss out.

We'll recap the squad rules, point out who fits what criteria and then discuss who is lucky to be included and who's unfortunate to miss out.