Sunderland are set for a very busy transfer window as they prepare their squad for the Premier League
You couldn't say it has been a quiet start to the transfer window. After all, Sunderland have broken both their incoming and outgoing transfer records, converting Enzo Le Fée's loan from AS Roma into a permanent deal and selling Jobe Bellingham to Borussia Dortmund for a fee that could eventually rise above £30 million.
That the club still have a huge amount of work to do before the campaign begins in August and the transfer deadline closes a few weeks later is nevertheless obvious. Bellingham's departure means they have a lost a key player from what was a relatively small core of the team who won promotion last season, and the gap between the Championship and the Premier League is significant.
That Sunderland have had a relatively slow start to their incoming business in particular is understandable, given that their rivals had the advantage of knowing their fate weeks previous. Sunderland had been holding transfer meetings in the weeks previous to their play-off win at Wembley, drawing up lists of potential targets depending on what division they would be playing in next season. That allowed them to quickly step up their work in the aftermath of that win over Sheffield United, with Kristjaan Speakman confirming last week that he had been abroad to meet potential recruits. That there has been a flurry of transfer rumours without as of yet any major progress is a reflection of where Sunderland are in their process; having established their list of targets they are know going through the phase of establishing availability, price and determining how they want to proceed.
It's worth at this point zooming out a little as well, to look at the club's new Premier League rivals to establish whether Sunderland's position is unusual or broadly on trend with the rest of the division. For the most part, it is the latter. Few teams have been particularly active at this point. Chelsea and Manchester City have both concluded four deals, but of course had the added time pressure of trying to get some business done ahead of the ongoing Club World Cup. Fresh from their title triumph, Liverpool have also concluded four deals and spent well in excess of £100 million, though it goes without saying that they are shopping in a very different market to Sunderland. The rest of the division shows a slightly more modest picture. Nottingham Forest and Fulham are yet to make a signing, while Newcastle United's one new arrival Antonio Cordero will go out loan next season. Arsenal are yet to make a signing, though deals to bring in goalkeeper Kepa from Chelsea and midfielder Christian Norgaard from Brentford are believed to be close. Everton, West Ham, Wolves, Manchester United, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa have all made one signing, Bournemouth two. Brentford have made three, but are of course going through a period of transition following Thomas Frank's departure for Tottenham Hotspur and could be about to lose Bryan Mbeumo to Manchester United.
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Perhaps most instructive is to look at Sunderland's two most direct rivals in their fellow promoted teams. Leeds United and Burnley have certainly used the additional team to make a strong start to their summer business, with the former signing Lukas Nmecha on a free transfer and highly-rated Udinese defender Jaka Bijol for a fee believed to be in the region of £15 million. Burnley have concluded five deals, though it's worth noting that four of those were in converting loan players from last season into permanent deals. Two more are expected through the door in the near future, with Scott Parker's side close to signing Lazio winger Loum Tchaouna and Feyenoord left back Quilindschy Hartman.
So we can say that Sunderland have a significant amount of work to do in future weeks to bridge the gap to their rivals, but also that the view behind the scenes on Wearside that this transfer window has for most clubs not yet really got going is broadly right. The feeling in the game is that as teams return for pre-season over the next fortnight, things will begin to progress quickly as players and clubs make decisions on their futures. That is clearly going to be even more relevant on Wearside, where the club will be getting to work with a new structure if and when Florent Ghisolfi's arrival as director of football is confirmed.
The early indications are that the club are looking to be very ambitious this summer, making initial enquiries for established top-tier players such as OGN Nice goalkeeper Marcin Bulka and Sassuolo winger Armand Laurienté. Getting deals for players of that calibre over the line is clearly another challenge altogether.
It is set to be an exciting summer on Wearside, even if it hasn't really taken off quite yet. Generally speaking, though, that's true for most of the Premier League with the new season still six weeks away.
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