Sunderland will play their football in the Premier League next season, reprising their position in the top flight.
We don't want to tempt fate, but it would take an absurd turnaround from the teams at the bottom to pull Regis Le Bris's side into a late dogfight.
The Black Cats have been brilliant this year, so organised and coherent. However, their attacking play has left something to be desired at times, and there's no denying form and fluency have taken a knock over the past couple of months.
Lowest xG Totals in the PL (25/26)
Club
Nott'm Forest
Tottenham
Sunderland
Burnley
Wolves
To avoid a second-season drop-off, Sunderland will need to strengthen once again this summer, and cut away a few of the stragglers.
Who could leave Sunderland this summer
In attack, Sunderland haven't quite flattered to deceive, but they have left a lot to be desired. Brian Brobbey has been effective as a powerful option at centre-forward, but Wilson Isidor has failed to replicate last year's form in the Championship, and he's fallen to the fringes.
Sunderland's Wilson Isidor
It's likely that the French-born forward will be sold this summer, with a more prolific centre-forward welcomed in his place.
Defensively, Sunderland are sound, and the likes of Granit Xhaka and Noah Sadiki have shaped Le Bris's engine room into a formidable zone.
But, as at number nine, the attacking flanks haven't been perfect, and more quality will be needed during the summer transfer window, with the young Romaine Mundle among those likely to leave.
However, another Wearsider was allowed to leave, and now he looks to be finished in a Sunderland shirt.
Sunderland's own Declan Rice is now finished
Dan Neil has succeeded as a boyhood graduate at Sunderland, going through the gears with his club and helping them back into the Premier League.
However, he's now finished with the outfit he has been at for 18 years, only playing three times in the Premier League this season before being loaned out to Ipswich Town in the Championship in January.
Since emerging from the youth ranks, where he had developed since 2010, Neil, 24 years old, has made 201 appearances for his boyhood club, scoring 12 goals and supplying 20 assists.
Dan Neil's League Career at Sunderland
Season
25/26
24/25
23/24
22/23
21/22
20/21
Sunderland U21s star Harrison Jones hailed him as a "proper leader" for his talismanic presence in midfield and his willingness to aid fellow academy graduates as they cut their teeth.
Interest from West Ham over the past year has only reinforced the claim that Neil could have been on his way to becoming the Black Cats' own version of Declan Rice, a homegrown English midfielder with aspirations of becoming a superstar.
Declan-Rice-Arsenal
Some fans might consider the likes of Jordan Henderson and Jordan Pickford, leaving the Stadium of Light and becoming superstars elsewhere in the Premier League. Now that Neil is finished under Le Bris, could he end up showing that they should have kept onto him and helped him develop into a top-class player?
Rice showed that development isn't always linear, released by Chelsea's academy before settling with West Ham and becoming a focal point under David Moyes, then earning a £105m transfer to Arsenal. Neil's situation isn't quite the same, but his technical qualities and defensive solidity suggest he has what it takes to star in the Premier League.
It is a shame to think that Sunderland could continue to go from strength to strength over the next several years in the Premier League without Neil at the heart of the pitch, but the emergence of Xhaka and Sadiki has prevented him from playing a key role, and he will leave this summer.
Dan-Neil-Sunderland
It would feel strange to see the Wearsider competing in the top flight for the likes of Ipswich or Coventry next year, but it may well be the case for one of their own.
Sunderland winger Jack Clarke Related
[£2m Sunderland outcast was looking "better than" Clarke, now he's finished](https://www.footballfancast.com/sunderland-mundle-looked-better-than-jack-clarke-now-he-is-finished/ "£2m Sunderland outcast was looking "better than" Clarke, now he's finished")
Sunderland may need to cut a few players loose this summer to continue their rise under Regis Le Bris.