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Sunderland, Sheffield United, Leeds United and Burnley could land a significant financial windfall with promotion into the Premier League.
Dreams of ending their eight-year absence from the Premier League remain very much alive for Sunderland.
There was an element of mystery and an air of the unknown when former Lorient head coach Regis Le Bris was named as permanent successor to former Black Cats boss Michael Beale last summer - and it would be safe to suggest the Frenchman has surpassed expectations as he had thrust his side into the race for the Premier League.
Despite losing key man Jack Clarke to Ipswich Town during the summer transfer window, Le Bris has brought strong performances out of the likes of Jobe Bellingham, Eliezer Mayenda and Chris Rigg to ensure Sunderland are battling with the likes of Leeds United, Burnley and Sheffield United to claim a return to the top flight of the English game.
But how much could promotion be worth for Sunderland and their rivals?
What has Regis Le Bris said about the push for promotion?
Speaking earlier this week when asked if he would prefer automatic promotion or the play-offs, the Black Cats head coach said: “I don’t prefer either. We will connect with reality and have to deal with it. It’s important to understand we are not in the plays-offs yet and the next priority is to find our best shape. If we are too relaxed it will be a disaster. The specific ambition is to be at our top. It’s not behind us, it's ahead of us and it’s something to chase.
“We have tough challenges, especially away, We have Coventry, West Brom, Bristol City, for example, they will be very exciting. We just take it game by game trying to improve as a team. This ambition is to win every game and we can learn. The squad is so small, everyone is involved. Even the injured players know they can reconnect with the squad. If the three teams above us stay the same it’s impossible to reconnect with them. We can just focus on winning the next game.”
Where do Sunderland sit in the race for promotion?
There is no question Leeds United are many people’s firm favourites to secure promotion into the Premier League this season and Daniel Farke’s men have certainly lived up to that tag as the climax in the race for the top flight rapidly approaches. Sheffield United and Burnley lead the chasing pack as they look to claim an immediate return to the Premier League after suffering disappointing relegations last season.
Sunderland are playing a game of catch-up between now and the end of the season as the recent draw against Preston North End and the defeats against Leeds and Hull City have opened up a gap to the automatic promotion places. However, all is not lost for Le Bris and his players as they still lie in a strong position to land a play-off spot, meaning they can still keep their Premier League dreams alive, even if the automatic spots remain out of reach.
How much could Sunderland make if they secure promotion into the Premier League?
Securing promotion into the Premier League has always brought a lucrative reward - but in these days of multi-billion broadcasting deals, the riches on offer become even more sizeable for clubs. Some have suggested they could offer a game-changing financial boost for promoted clubs - and football finance expert Kieran Maguire has revealed just how much the Black Cats could swell their coffers by competing alongside the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea and arch rivals Newcastle United for just a solitary season.
He told The Echo: “If we take a look at Sunderland's broadcast revenue, if we start off there, they're probably getting around about £8.5million to £9million from the EFL and the solidarity payments from the Premier League. Sheffield United finished bottom of the Premier League last season and they got £109million. That's likely to have gone up by next season if Sunderland are promoted.”
He added: “So I think it will probably be in the region of £111million or £112million. So that's good news for the club and on top of that, you've got solidarity payments. Worst case scenario, if Sunderland go straight down, then it's probably a further £80million. That's £190million to begin with, in terms of the financial benefit. If we then look at the other sources of income, your commercial deal, front of shirt deal, which in the Championship, if Sunderland are getting £500k at the moment, that's good.”
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