Mario Pasalic joined Atalanta from Chelsea(Image: David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images)
Sunderland have a strong crop of young players - but must add some experience around them if they are to survive in the Premier League.
That's the view of former defender Phil Bardsley as he assesses the Black Cats squad after their promotion from the Championship.
[Sunderland](https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/all-about/sunderland) produced a heroic season with the youngest squad in the division and are now looking at the best way of stabilising and surviving in the top flight.
Teenage star players Jobe Bellingham and Tommy Watson have left for German giants Borussia Dortmund and new Premier League rivals Brighton respectively.
But the club have yet to announce any new business in the market despite triggering a clause to sign Roma loan midfielder on a permanent deal.
“When you look at the squad they’ve got a lot of young, promising players,” said Bardsley.
“They’ve gone up, so they can add to that youth and recruit well over the summer with some more experienced players to help them in the Premier League.”
“They’ve got players like Luke O’Nien who have been around a while, he’s been a brilliant servant to the club. He’s a player you hang your hat on to give you 7-8 out of ten each week.
“Players like that are hard to come by in all honesty, they probably don’t get the recognition other players do. He’s been fantastic, but all round they’ve got some really good players and good quality in the squad.”
Frenchman Wilson Isidor finished the club’s top-scorer last season with 14 goals in 49 games, with 13 of them in them in the second tier which saw him finish in the overall Championship scoring charts. His goals dried up towards the end of the season, though.
“They’ve got Wilson Isidor up front as well and he’s got a bit of pace about it,” said Bardsley, who played for the Black Cats between 2008-2014.
“When you’ve got a bit of pace about you then you’ve always got a good chance of scoring.
“They did really struggle towards the end of the season, which is something they’ll have to guard against because they really are a young squad.
“You are going to run out of fuel a lot, but they redeemed themselves and produced when it mattered.
“It’s a huge step up the Premier League, so we’ll have to see how they recruit and how they perform.”
Meanwhile, Sunderland have reportedly joined Leeds United in considering a move for Croatia international Mario Pasalic. The former Chelsea and AC Milan midfielder is out of contract at Atalanta at the end of the month and both clubs are hoping to see if they can grab a bargain and sign the 76-cap international on a free transfer when his deal expires on June 30.
Pasalic has played 298 times for Atlanta across seven seasons in total and weighed in with 59 goals.
And both Sunderland and Leeds are looking for an experienced player to control the middle of the park as they look to make a mark back in the top-flight.