Sunderland signed fourteen players across a remarkable summer transfer window
Sunderland’s summer like no other couldn’t have ended any other way. They went out not with a whimper but with a bang, recruiting three players and covering every last position that fans might have hoped for a little extra depth.
Most had not even considered another striker heading into the final couple of days, but Chelsea’s shock decision to initiate discussions over a recall for Marc Guiu forced a rethink. There is perhaps no better summation of this window that Sunderland’s response was to recruit Brian Brobbey from Ajax, a near £20 million deal for a player reportedly attracting interest from Arsenal just over a year ago.
Though the long-awaited ‘here we go’ signalling Jhon Lucumí’s arrival from Bologna never materialised, the signing of Lutsharel Geertruida from RB Leipzig was some consolation. Bertrand Traoré was the winger Sunderland have been chasing since a deal to sign Armand Laurienté collapsed at the very final stage, a transfer that the Black Cats only just got over the line. A fee of £2.5 million means it is a minor deal in comparison to most this summer, but the 29-year-old played regularly for Ajax last season and brings very welcome experience and depth to one of the few positions causing some anxiety both internally and externally. Not because Sunderland’s current options had started poorly, but because the reality of AFCON and likely injury/form issues meant a little more was clearly needed for the long winter months.
It ends a quite simply transformative summer at Sunderland, in which the scale and pace of change has been dizzying and more dramatic than anyone had anticipated in the days following that Wembley win.
The Black Cats made a strong start, demonstrating just how long and how thoroughly they had been preparing for a potential promotion. The shape of the deals fell broadly in line with what we were expecting, with the word behind the scenes at the start of the summer that Sunderland would stick broadly to their strategy of investing in young talent with future resale value and room for development. There was just one subtle but significant difference, Sunderland investing primarily in players who already had stacks of top-level experience. That was an indication that there was recognition internally that the sheer scale of the challenge ahead required some tweaks to the club’s long-established transfer strategy.
What nobody expected was what came next. The broad expectation, including for many at the club, was that there would be four or five high-profile additions to improve the spine of the side and some additional deals to add more depth. That we would reach the end of the window with the prospect of just two or three survivors from last season in the starting XI is a surprise for some internally as well as a shock to most neutral observers.
The crucial moment in Sunderland’s summer transfer window
Perhaps the biggest clue that something was afoot was the arrival of Florent Ghisolfi, highlighting Sunderland’s ambition and determination to chase deals that would usually be considered well beyond the reach of a newly-promoted club.
Sunderland’s financial prudence in the Championship allowed them to be braver and think differently, shifting from their previous approach in the second phase of the summer. The arrival of Granit Xhaka was quite simply a game changer, both in the quality it added to the squad and also the signal it sent to other potential recruits. Régis Le Bris and Sunderland’s hierarchy wanted to add experience to a young squad and were prepared to invest to do it: Xhaka’s arrival opened up those opportunities. The likes of Nordi Mukiele and Geertruida bring additional leadership to the squad, as well as some key attributes on the pitch.
The attributes Sunderland were determined to recruit this summer
If there was one common thread to Sunderland’s recruitment this summer, it was that they were looking for significant technical ability but also very specifically for players who could run and compete. If there are two major differences between the Premier League now and in Sunderland’s last stint, it is the quality of the midtable teams but also the increased athleticism and physicality right across the board. Sunderland had studied the teams who have come up in recent years and identified a strong structure out of possession and players who could run as key. In their later additions, they have also added significant height and aerial ability through the spine of the team. In the modern Premier League with such a significant emphasis on set pieces, that was a key requirement for Le Bris.
Sunderland’s ruthlessness in transforming their team and squad from last season is a reflection of their determination to consolidate at the level, and it speaks much for the reality of life in the Premier League that even this remarkable spend offers no guarantees of survival.
Even so, it’s hard to remember a transfer window that has been so universally enjoyed and appreciated by the fanbase. If Sunderland are not able to stay up, it will not be for the want of trying or for a lack of ambition. It’s hard to understate just how transformative Tommy Watson’s goal has proven to be, allowing Sunderland to execute a strategy that undoubtedly included risk but has already yielded six points from three games. The Black Cats hope that particularly after the arrival of Ghisolfi, they had access and knowledge of markets and players that could make all the difference this season. There’s no such thing as a perfect window but Sunderland now having a fighting chance, all that anyone could have hoped for back in May.
There remain some key questions, of course. Do Sunderland have the clinical finishing they need to turn chances that will clearly be at a premium into goals? How big an impact will AFCON have on their form and after so much turnover, can they retain the fighting spirit and unity that was so key last season? Sunderland fans have a rarely been so excited to find out.
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