Sunderland signed a number of established top-tier players in a remarkable summer recruitment drive
It's a question that many neutrals, and a fair few Sunderland fans for that matter, have been asking all summer.
Just how are Sunderland doing it? Their transfer business has been more ambitious than most had anticipated, not just in terms of financial outlay but the stature of player signed. A big part of that is of course the draw of Premier League football, a division players across the world are desperate to take part in.
Finances are clearly part of the reason why Sunderland have been able to recruit so aggressively, but it doesn't fully explain their success.
So how do they sign a player? The first step of the process in a bitesize video, produced by the club's media team, which in a couple of minutes sells the story to potential recruits. It taps into the club's growing image as one of the most exciting projects in European football, a young team of players making their way roared on by one of the most passionate fanbases around. Clips from the club's rise back from League One are included, and it also captures the general feeling of a city and a team firmly on the up.
From there, the club then moves into the more traditional phase of discussing the facilities on offer and the key details any new recruit needs to know about. There will inevitably be a chat with Régis Le Bris about how the player will fit into the team, and Sunderland believe one of their key strengths is the flexibility of their recruitment strategy. They utilise all their contacts to help strike a deal, and the feeling behind the scenes is that the arrival of Florent Ghisolfi has given them another dimension in signing top players from Europe.
Sporting director Kristjaan Speakman believes defining what Sunderland's culture as a club and a city is internally has then made it easy to sell the project to new players.
“First of all, you’ve got to know what it is," Speakman said.
"I think we’ve established clarity over what Sunderland is, its identity, what it stands for, what it feels like and means to be here. We’ve got a really nice video the [club media] guys have put together that we can drop onto players’ phones and for agents and families to get an insight. We can’t just rely on the external to do that for us, we have to be able to do it ourselves. We’ve got a really clear presentation around Sunderland, and a really clear delivery about how we speak to the players, what order, who speaks about what. That makes sure we can get clarity in our message, and that’s important when you’ve got short meetings and a short space of time with new players. You have to be able to convince them. All the players that we’ve gone for over the window, it hasn’t been that they’re sat around waiting for Sunderland, there’s top teams, big teams, trying to sign these players and we’ve had to try to do everything we can to get in front of them and show them that Sunderland is the best place for them to come to."
Sunderland's flexibility was best underlined by their biggest transfer of the summer, signing Granit Xhaka from Bayer Leverkusen. It's a deal that is known to have been spearheaded by Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, who held the initial discussions to sell the project to Xhaka. Speakman believes Xhaka's unique drive and personality was a key reason why the challenge appealed so much, but also feels it demonstrated where Sunderland can gain an edge on their rivals.
“I think it’s probably around two things," Speakman said.
"I think it’s around the individual in question, Granit. I think you see a person there who is absolutely not daunted by any challenge, or hasn’t been daunted by any challenge in his career. He’s a leader on and off the pitch, and he’s a top human being. I think the proposition at Sunderland is something that sparked him. There’s been lots of players over the years that have had that spark. Obviously, the profile of player is different because of the stature and the legacy that he’s had in his career. Then, it’s where you lean on important personnel in the business. Especially with that transfer, the owner getting involved in the discussion and being able to take passionately with enthusiasm about what Sunderland is and where it’s going, and what role Granit can play in it, is hugely important. I always talk about how aligned and connected everyone is, and I think that’s really unique for our football club. It helps you do some special things, and I think signing Granit Xhaka for Sunderland is a special thing."
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Speakman: We'll give it everything to preserve Sunderland's Premier League status
Speakman was asked this week whether after three encouraging performances, Sunderland could be considered 'Premier League ready'. Speakman said only time will tell but he feels Sunderland are doing everything they can to give the team the best possible chance.
“I always remember going to Plymouth away and some supporters stopped me and Kyril in the car park," Speakman said.
"They said, ‘Can we do a, b and c?’ Kyril said, ‘We’re going to do our best’. I always thought that was a really good answer because all you can do is do your best, and I think we’ve done our best. I think we’ve used all our resources, all our people and all our energy to put the club in the best position. I think that’s hopefully all supporters can ask, and it’s all we ask of each other in the building. We’ll go into this Premier League season and give it our best shot. There won’t be an ounce of energy left unused in terms of trying to prepare the team, recover the team and get the team ready. "Everything that goes on at the stadium is geared towards hopefully making it an enjoyable atmosphere for the players, so that this season, Sunderland can retain their Premier League status."
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