Sunderland had been outside of the Premier League for some time, but the Black Cats are now back and ready to leave their mark on one of world football’s most entertaining and exciting divisions.
Indeed, before achieving promotion in stunning fashion against Sheffield United at Wembley back in late May, Sunderland had been missing from the top-flight picture for a mammoth eight campaigns, with a miserable four-season stay in League One even coming their way, which further hammered home how the mighty had fallen.
Now, Wearside is back on the footballing map courtesy of Regis Le Bris being the heroic manager to finally break their promotion hoodoo, with plenty of near-misses over the last few years piling on the pain, before the sweet ecstasy of promotion could be fully lapped up.
However, the task at the Frenchman’s door now – alongside the other powers that be at the Stadium of Light – is to build a squad of players that’s worthy of staying put in the Premier League, to make all that hard graft worthwhile.
Already, the big bucks are being splashed to try and gift the Black Cats the best fighting chance at survival and beyond, with a lavish £50m forked out to snap up both Enzo Le Fee permanently, on top of Habib Diarra further bulking up the midfield spots for a club-record £30m.
Noah Sadiki has also cost Le Bris and Co. a sizeable £17.75m, while confirmation for the signing of Club Brugge’s Chemsedine Talbi also appears to be imminent, after a £20m agreement was struck.
More signings will be clearly required, and with that in mind, here is what Sunderland’s dream squad could look like if everything goes smoothly the rest of the summer.
The goalkeepers Brand new number one at the Stadium of Light
Kicking off Sunderland’s dream squad is the goalkeeper position, and there could well be a new number one on Wearside this coming season.
Whilst Anthony Patterson was able to tally up 14 clean sheets in league action on the way to the Black Cats triumphantly reaching the big time, he could soon be demoted to a number two spot in the side, particularly if Sunderland do end up signing Djorde Petrovic.
It’s been widely reported that the Black Cats might be able to win the reserve Chelsea ‘keeper for around the £21.5m mark this summer, with that perhaps signifying a steal down the line, considering the agile Serbian is just fresh off a ten-clean-sheet season in between the sticks for Strasbourg.
Patterson would no doubt offer a safe pair of gloves as backup, but with Petrovic also flexing 31 games in the Premier League in the past – with seven clean sheets heading his way at Stamford Bridge – he might well be what Le Bris now desires as a first-team option.
Alongside the Englishman and the £21.5m buy, Le Bris would also have Simon Moore as an emergency option, with the 35-year-old keeping three clean sheets across his minimal Sunderland game-time to date.
Full list of goalkeepers: Djorde Petrovic, Anthony Patterson, Simon Moore
The defenders Four new signings join Petrovic
Petrovic is unlikely to be the only first-team altering addition to Sunderland’s defence, as four more potential new signings join this bumper Black Cats squad.
However, irrespective of all this activity, Trai Hume should remain out in front as Sunderland’s main right-back – even as the challenge of the Premier League has the potential to eat players whole – with the Northern Irishman a blistering performer for Le Bris’ men last season when notching up nine goal contributions.
Daniel Ballard should also fancy his chances at being a starter in the heart of defence just based on this last-gasp header alone, but he did also win an imperious 4.6 duels on average per second-tier clash last season when fit.
This is where it gets interesting as Charlie Cresswell and Deja Caleta-Car are added into the mix in the centre-back areas to challenge both the aforementioned Ballard and Luke O’Nien.
Cresswell would cost around the £18m ballpark to obtain, which doesn’t feel like too steep of amount to splash on a top-flight-distinguished defender, considering the England U21 international is just fresh off collecting nine clean sheets in Ligue 1 action for Toulouse.
Alongside the ex-Leeds United centre-back, his £8.5m-rated Croatian counterpart would also provide some more tough competition to the likes of O’Nien – who isn’t getting any younger at 30 years of age – having shown off his top division qualities too with Lyon when averaging a 91% pass accuracy per league game last season.
The left-back spot should also be claimed by Black Cats regular Dennis Cirkin, who is the full package with 11 clean sheets and five goal contributions tallied up last campaign, but he would be pushed by two fresh faces in the form of Reinildo and Ishe Samuels-Smith.
Reinildo has 25 Champions League games under his belt and would be arriving on a free transfer, whilst Samuels-Smith would be joining on loan from Chelsea as a diamond tipped for big things, and he will be eager to kick on at a club renowned for polishing young gems.
Full list of right backs: Trai Hume, Timothee Pembele, Niall Huggins
Full list of centre backs: Daniel Ballard, Charlie Cresswell, Luke O’Nien, Duje Caleta-Car
Full list of left backs: Dennis Cirkin, Reinildo, Ishe Samuels-Smith
The midfielders £43m star breaks Diarra's record fee
All the glitz and glamour of Sunderland’s busy window so far has centred on the midfield department, but Dan Neil will still fancy his chances at a concrete first-team spot in the Premier League.
After all, the homegrown Black Cats midfielder will be working his socks off if any basement battle arrives on Wearside, knowing how passionate the Stadium of Light masses can be, with two goals and three assists also under his belt on the way to promotion being sealed.
He will be joined potentially by a midfielder that cost even more than Diarra’s whopping £30m, with it being speculated that ex-Arsenal warrior Matteo Guendouzi could soon join the ranks for a colossal £43m to beef up the Black Cats centrally.
Guendouzi was an ever-present member of Lazio’s midfield last season, and for good reason, with one goal and three assists coming his way in the demanding Serie A. Whilst his price tag does seem steep, he also has 57 Premier League games already on his side with the Gunners.
Joining him in the middle of the park is Habib Diarra, who will be keen to be another gem unearthed from Ligue 1 by Le Bris, after creating a hefty nine big chances in the French top-flight across his 24/25 season, on top of his standout output of four goals and five assists.
He is likely to take up a central spot alongside either Neil or the expensive Guendouzi, whilst Noah Sadiki will offer up his services to Sunderland as a versatile figure – away from solely being a midfield spark – having even lined up as a full-back on occasion last campaign for Union Saint-Gillois.
Full list of midfielders: Dan Neil, Matteo Guendouzi, Habib Diarra, Noah Sadiki
The forwards
“Living legend” adds competition for Wilson Isidor
Last, but by no means least, we have arrived at the integral forward positions in Sunderland’s dream squad, with the Black Cats wanting to expose plenty of porous Premier League defences on the way to clinching survival.
Patrick Roberts might not be a spring chicken anymore on Wearside, but he has the ability on his day to cause defences distress, with a glowing collection of nine goals and 18 assists across his 145-game back catalogue.
Eliezer Mayenda’s flexible presence in Le Bris’ camp could be put to good use here in offering the Black Cats another body down their right flank, with five of his Sunderland career appearances coming here.
That said, the Frenchman will likely find himself behind 20-year-old Talbi, with the young winger registering 12 goals and assists last season for Brugge.
In the number ten spot, Chris Rigg’s moment to shine in the Premier League is finally here. Crazily, despite being only 18 years of age, Rigg is a household fixture of Sunderland’s starting lineups, with seven strikes next to his name from 72 clashes and counting. Adil Aouchiche could offer competition here, but this feels like Rigg’s position to master now.
As for the left flank, Sunderland already look extremely strong, with both Enzo Le Fee and Romaine Mundle at Le Bris’ disposal.
Le Fee delivered the goods last season when it mattered with two assists registered in the crunch playoff semi-final contests, whilst ex-Tottenham Hotspur sensation Mundle showed real glimpses of quality in the second tier, too, even as injuries took their toll, as seen in him collecting five goals from just 25 league outings.
Games played
52
47
Goals scored
13
17
Assists
2
9
Big chances missed (in the league)
20
11
Big chances created (in the league)
9
9
Sunderland’s firepower will be enhanced for sure in the striker slot, however, with Lyon star Georges Mikautadze now reportedly on their ever-growing summer shopping list. Valued at £21m, he could bring the Black Cats’ spending to almost £112m on these seven additional signings, even without factoring in the confirmed deals for Diarra and Sadiki, alongside Talbi’s impending arrival.
It’s clear to see why he’s the desired centre-forward target when assessing his far heftier goal tally across the 24/25 campaign when weighed up next to 13-goal hero Wilson Isidor, and with football talent scout Jacek Kulig even going as far as to label him a “living legend”, he could be a real fan’s favourite at the Stadium of Light to come.
Full list of left-wingers: Enzo Le Fee, Romaine Mundle
Full list of right-wingers: Chemsedine Talbi, Patrick Roberts, Eliezer Mayenda
Full list of number tens: Chris Rigg, Adil Aouchiche
Full list of strikers: Wilson Isidor, Georges Mikautadze
Shades of Cresswell: Sunderland now in advanced talks to sign £4m star
Sunderland will be looking to the future if they successfully snap up this £4m gem.
ByKelan Sarson