After adding 15 new faces and spending £163m this summer, Sunderland may have been expected to start slowly this season, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
With five wins from nine games, Sunderland are flying in the early stages of their first season back in top flight.
As things stand, Sunderland are on track for their best-ever season in the Premier League. It’ll take incredible consistency, of course, but Regis Le Bris will be buoyed by the way his new players have settled in already.
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However, there may be even higher levels these players can reach, especially considering we are in a World Cup year.
Nordi Mukiele of Sunderland prepares to take a throw in during the Premier League match between Sunderland and Brentford at Stadium of Light.
Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images
Sunderland recruited hungry, international-level players
While most would agree that Granit Xhaka is Sunderland’s signing of the summer, there are a whole host of new players at Sunderland that will have their eyes on securing a place at next summer’s World Cup.
Robin Roefs has just begun to break into the fold for the Netherlands. He’s yet to make his debut for his country, but with Brighton’s Bart Verbruggen in front of him, Sunderland’s new number one will fancy his chances of becoming the top Dutch goalkeeper over the course of this season.
Fellow Dutchman Brian Brobbey has had a tough start at Sunderland but he’s making progress now. If he can hit his stride, there’s a good chance he will be part of Ronald Koeman’s plans moving forward.
Meanwhile, the likes of Player of the Month nominee Nordi Mukiele and the matchwinner against Chelsea, Chemsdine Talbi, both have just one and two caps respectively for France and Morocco. They’ll be eager to keep up their good form and add to that tally in the USA.
Star striker Wilson Isidor has not been involved with France since the Under-20 setup, but his time with the senior side may well come soon after a blistering start to the league season. We’ve seen Jean-Philippe Mateta work his way into Didier Deschamp’s squad, so why can’t the Sunderland man?
Simon Adingra is one of the more experienced internationals in Regis Le Bris’ squad, with 26 caps for the Ivory Coast. However, he’s not started the last three games for his country, and will need to prove himself in the coming months.
Player From Fee
Habib Diarra Strasbourg £27.7m
Simon Adingra Brighton £21.5m
Enzo Le Fee Roma £20.2m
Brian Brobbey Ajax £17.6m
Chemsdine Talbi Club Brugge £17.6m
Noah Sadiki Union SG £14.9m
Granit Xhaka Bayer Leverkusen £13.2m
Nordi Mukiele PSG £10.5m
Omar Alderete Getafe £10.2m
Robin Roefs NEC Nijmegen £9.2m
Bertrand Traore Ajax £2.5m
Reinildo Atletico Madrid free transfer
Arthur Masuaka Besiktas free transfer
Lutsharel Geertruida RB Leipzig loan transfer
Sunderland summer signings
There will also be places up for grabs for the likes of Omar Alderete of Paraguay and Habib Diarra of Senegal, while Northern Ireland could still qualify and give Trai Hume and Dan Ballard an opportunity.
All in all, you look at the amount of players with something to prove and a goal to strive for here, and it’s easy to see why this Sunderland squad could push on and achieve something unthinkable this season.
Yes, a lot of Premier League players are in the same boat, but when you compare Sunderland’s international contingent to that of fellow promoted sides Leeds and Burnley, the Black Cats blow them out of the water.
Survival beckons for Sunderland, and World Cup action awaits those who play the most prominent roles for the Wearside outfit.
Wilson Isidor and Granit Xhaka celebrate as Sunderland score against Aston Villa
Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP via Getty Images
What else can Sunderland add in January?
They may have recruited heavily in the summer, but after the start they’ve had, we may not have seen the end of Sunderland’s spending this season.
We understand Sunderland will try to sign a new striker in January. In fact, we even came up with some suggestions of forwards Sunderland may look at, including Richarlison and Fisnik Asllani.
Le Bris wants a deep squad that can compete on all fronts, and he’s slowly but surely building that. It’s that fight for places that will also spur the team on to bigger and better things, too.
The more high quality players Sunderland have, the more pressure there will be to step up and succeed within that unit. Some players will fall by the wayside, but others will flourish.