Sunderland’s sporting director has given an interview discussing the summer so far and what’s next
Kristjaan Speakman says he is 'really excited' by the arrival of Florent Ghisolfi as director of football at Sunderland.
The club's sporting director has given an interview to the club's media team following the team's return to training at the Academy of Light this week. Speakman also discussed Sunderland's hugely productive start to the transfer window, with five signings already confirmed. A sixth is expected in the coming days, after a fee was agreed with Brighton & Hove Albion for the transfer of Ivory Coast winger Simon Adingra.
Sunderland have also been busy off the pitch, confirming the arrival of three new additions to Régis Le Bris's backroom team. Luciano Vulcano and Isidre Ramón Madir have joined as assistant coaches, while Neil Cutler is the club's new goalkeeping coach.
Here's everything Speakman said on the summer so far and what's ahead...
On returning for pre-season
“There's always a special buzz when you come back for the first week of pre-season but for the club to be back in the Premier League and to have that feeling that it's so close to Premier League games coming back, it's really exciting for everybody.
On the transfer window so far...
“We want to be decisive. We had a short period of time between the play-off final and the players returning, and then it's a short period of time again before the games start. To give us the best chance of being really competitive we want to get the group organised early and we're delighted to get the boys through the door.
On the arrival of Florent Ghisolfi
“First of all, we're scaling up in several areas across the club. It's really important for us to be Premier League ready and to have that sustainable model in the Premier League, the executive function is no different. I'm really excited for Flo to be coming on board, I think it enhances our capabilities and our ability to make good decisions in the transfer market and around performance. I'm really looking forward to working with him.
On Sunderland's return to action at Gateshead and South Shields this weekend....
“The opening games are really nice. it's a fairly low key occasion for the players in terms of getting minutes in their legs but to get the team back out in the community, local games against local teams is really important to us and I'm sure the fans are really buzzing to get back watching the team. It probably feels like too long for them since the final and of course from that moment, it'll start to really pick up momentum through pre-season.
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