Sunderland fans must still be living in dreamland at the moment.
Putting all of their frantic summer transfer window activity to one side, Black Cats supporters will be firmly on cloud nine regarding their beloved team being back in the Premier League after pulling off a playoff final upset to down Chris Wilder's heavily fancied Sheffield United.
Regis-Le-Bris
Since that memorable success at Wembley, Sunderland has been linked with some monumental names and has picked up some terrific additions.
New midfield star Habib Diarra has arrived at the Stadium of Light for a club-record £30m, and the club has also nearly completed a deal for ex-Atletico Madrid defender Reinildo to join the ranks on a free transfer. The Mackems have also agreed a £17m move to sign Noah Sadiki. Talk about making a stamp in the transfer window.
Atletico Madrid's Reinildo Mandava before the match
Regis Le Bris' men won't be stopping here, however, as a promising Premier League starlet is now tipped to make the switch to Wearside to boost Sunderland's numbers even more.
Sunderland in race to sign Premier League starlet
As per a report by Football.London, the newly promoted side now find themselves in an intense race to snap up Chelsea youngster Ishe Samuels-Smith this summer.
It's stated that the Stamford Bridge teenager is very highly rated by those at Enzo Maresca's outfit, but the Blues want Samuels-Smith to gain more experience of the men's game, away from solely playing on youth pitches in West London.
It's clear that he is in Chelsea's long-term plans when you further consider he penned a new contract recently stretching out until 2031. But, for now, it's between the Black Cats, Rangers, Middlesbrough and Stoke for his coveted loan signature, with all four teams pushing to sign the youngster after holding club-to-club talks.
Sunderland's well-known reputation for getting more out of youngsters - as seen in Jobe Bellingham now playing for German behemoth Borussia Dortmund after honing his craft on Wearside - could sway Chelsea's decision-making here, with Samuels-Smith also potentially going down as a more exciting move to sign off on than Reinildo.
Reinildo Mandava for Atletico Madrid
Why Samuels-Smith is a more exciting signing than Reinildo
Whilst the Mozambique international does boast 25 Champions League appearances next to his name across his esteemed career to date, Sunderland have had great success in recent years when taking punts on up-and-coming starlets to come good.
Indeed, just last season saw the Black Cats win promotion with 17-year-old Chris Rigg at the heart of the operation, with the homegrown talent now up to seven strikes in total playing in the senior side, as four of those goals came about during Le Bris and Co's promotion heroics.
Five youngest average starting lineups in the Championship - 24/25
Club
1. Sunderland
2. Sunderland
3. Stoke City
4. Sunderland
5. Sunderland
Sourced by Transfermarkt
It was seen all across the Frenchman's various lineups last season, too, as shown looking at the table above, meaning the 19-year-old could go on to be another Rigg-like diamond for the Premier League new boys.
His numbers at youth level for Chelsea seem to push him in that direction too, with the Manchester-born defender helping himself to a promising seven assists from the left-back position across his 47 career appearances for both the Blues at U21 level and also his former side in Everton.
On the other hand, the incoming African has only managed to amass two goal contributions from the left-back spot across his entire senior career.
Of course, those were picked up in some more challenging environments than just youth football, but with Samuels-Smith also showing off an adaptable side to his game in the U21 scene by being capable of playing in the centre-back areas on top of slotting in as a left winger, it does feel as if this is a pick-up more in-keeping with Sunderland long-term, over acquiring the 30-year-old free agent.
Paris St Germain's Warren Zaire-Emery in action with Atletico Madrid's Reinildo Mandava
While Reinildo will likely get more first-team minutes straight off the bat, Samuels-Smith has "incredible" potential, in the words of David Unsworth, and has been lauded as "one of England’s best [defensive] prospects" by analyst Ben Mattinson.
Therefore, do not rule out Sunderland working their magic on yet another teen sensation.
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