James Copley’s Sunderland notebook looks at Chelsea’s Google Doc mess, Granit Xhaka, Chris Rigg and Joe Cowan
Thanks, as always, to everyone who continues to read these notebooks. This one is a bit of a transfer-window mix, from a forgotten Chelsea episode involving Sunderland’s striker search to the way the Granit Xhaka drama has shifted the mood around the summer.
There is also Chris Rigg training like a mad man, a few familiar Sunderland faces keeping sharp together over the break and a young goalkeeper set for a first-team opportunity in pre-season.
Chelsea’s Google Doc mess and the Sunderland deal that got away
Cast your minds back to the summer of 2024 and Sunderland were working on a potential deal to sign Chelsea forward David Datro Fofana on loan as they explored multiple fronts to secure a striker. As we know, the deal did not happen in time. What can now be said is that Sunderland were not helped by the cluttered hierarchy at Chelsea and, frankly, a fair bit of general incompetence at the London club’s end.
My understanding is that the move did not go through because Chelsea basically forgot to sign the Google Doc. There was so much going on with other deals elsewhere that Sunderland’s deal was not signed off in time. That was not a great look from a pastoral point of view for Fofana, either. Here was a player who needed a move and was then left in limbo for a couple of weeks before eventually heading to Turkey, where the window stayed open later, for the first of two loan moves.
It just goes to show how bad luck can still leave your own fans fuming. Sunderland obviously did not make any of that public at the time, and I only learned about it just after the event, but someone else’s mess-up can seriously harm your season even when you have done the best you can. That is the transfer window, really. It is messy, political and full of ridiculous twists that supporters often never get to hear about.
Granit Xhaka drama shows how quickly everything can change
The Granit Xhaka to Chelsea drama proves the same point in a very different way. At the end of last season, it was strongly hinted to me that if one Sunderland player was to leave this summer in a big-money move, Robin Roefs could be the leading candidate given the fee Sunderland could potentially command.
That made sense at the time. Roefs had enjoyed an excellent season; he is young, highly rated and plays in a position where elite clubs are always looking. But the optics have shifted completely. Roefs did not play at the World Cup, and this Xhaka business has blown everything else out of the water. If Xhaka goes, Sunderland will not be wanting to lose anybody else of major importance if they can possibly avoid it.
That does not mean every player suddenly becomes untouchable. Football does not work like that. But losing the captain, talisman and most influential dressing-room figure would surely change the calculation around the rest of the squad. A week is a long time in football, but a couple of months in a transfer window can feel like several years. The noise around Chelsea has become the dominant issue of the summer, and everything else now seems to sit underneath that.
Chris Rigg already training like a mad man
Away from the transfer noise, Chris Rigg appears to be wasting no time before what feels like a really important season in his Sunderland development. Rigg has been training like a mad man with former Sunderland players Carl Lawson and Rees Greenwood, and there have also been sessions involving a mix of current and former Sunderland players as they keep themselves fit and sharp over the summer.
It is nice to see a lot of the North East lads sticking together. Tommy Watson has also been spotted training with Riggy, while Tom Lavery, who has just left Sunderland and joined Gateshead, has been involved too. Former Black Cats attacker Josh Robertson, now at Brighton alongside Watson, has also been part of the group, as has current Sunderland goalkeeper Ben Metcalf.
There is nothing too dramatic to report there, but it is still worth noting. Rigg has a huge year ahead of him. Sunderland have more competition in midfield than ever; the club are preparing for Premier League and Europa League football, and he will be desperate to keep pushing for a meaningful role.
Nobody around Sunderland doubts his ability. Nobody doubts his mentality either. But this is the next challenge: finding the minutes, taking the chances and making sure his development keeps moving at the right pace. Seeing him already working like that over the summer is exciting.
Joe Cowan set for first-team chance
One academy player expected to get a good look over pre-season is Joe Cowan. My understanding is that the young goalkeeper is in line to go on Sunderland’s first-team tour and is likely to get the nod as Régis Le Bris takes a closer look at some of the club’s younger players. Cowan is highly regarded at the Academy of Light, and pre-season feels like a natural chance for him to show where he is at against senior players and in a first-team environment.
Sunderland’s academy pathway remains a major theme under Florent Ghisolfi, and opportunities like this matter. Not every player who travels in pre-season is suddenly on the verge of the first team, but it is still a chance to impress, learn and show the staff how they cope with the step up. For Cowan, it should be a valuable few weeks.
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