The advantage Sunderland hold over Burnley and Luton in Leeds transfer race: View | OneFootball

Leeds loanee Ian Poveda has played a key role in Sheffield Wednesday's Championship survival, and now looks set to find another new home this summer.

Leeds United are reportedly "optimistic" that some of their loan players will have done enough to earn permanent moves away from Elland Road this summer. One of those is surely Poveda, despite the fact that he is set to become a free agent and is slightly different to those others that the Whites will hope can earn them a fee.

After playing a sizeable role in aiding Sheffield Wednesday's Championship status under manager Danny Rohl, the 24-year-old winger is now set to enter the summer window as a free agent.

But with multiple clubs circling around the Englishman, do Sunderland have a leg up on their rivals in terms of the guarantee of playing time that Poveda would receive?

Burnley and Luton Town also interested in Poveda

Newly relegated duo Burnley and Luton Town are named alongside Sunderland in reports surrounding those battling for Poveda's signature.

But with those two respective clubs set to receive parachute payments to boost their transfer coffers, reinforcements will undoubtedly be arriving in their numbers to cope with the overhauls that will likely take place, as they accomodate back to life in the second tier.

As for Sunderland, it will likely be less of an overhaul and more about adding pieces to the building blocks of their squad, and thus there should be fewer bodies in between Poveda and regular Championship minutes.

And so, coming off the back of an impressive, albeit short spell with Sheffield Wednesday, the 24-year-old must surely be arriving at the point in his career - similar to that of Patrick Roberts - in which he looks for a place to put down his roots.

Poveda could be a good signing for Sunderland

Any deal for Poveda would come without a price for Sunderland, given the fact he will become a free agent this summer.

It could, however, be a signing that is absolutely necessary should starman Jack Clarke make his long-speculated departure from the Stadium of Light, albeit Poveda is probably best suited to the opposite flank.

Sunderland have made clear that their philosophy in regards to recruitment is to be more shrewd in the way they do business, with no more extortionate fees and wages being parted with, as they look to build a sustainable business model.

So, whilst his numbers don't necessarily jump off the screen, those who've seen him play have seen enough to suggest there's a player in there that is making a strong enough impact to warrant interest from newly relegated top-flight sides.

Sides who don't particularly need to be scouring the free agent market looking for bargains as with the aforementioned injection of parachute payments.

Poveda is direct and skillful, and gets his team up the pitch and into goalscoring areas, even if it's not reflected on the stat sheets.

This is the kind of low-risk, high-reward deal that the Black Cats will be looking for this summer, and he could prove to be a very shrewd addition should he make the move the North East.

The ace in Sunderland's hand is the fact that they, unlike some rival suitors, can show plenty of evidence that the winger will finally get the game-time his career needs.