Imagine telling a Sunderland supporter last summer that there would be chants of "you're going down" against Tottenham Hotspur at the Stadium of Light in April, and not aimed at the home side.
The Black Cats fans taunted Roberto De Zerbi and his team with that chant in the closing stages of added time before the final whistle blew for a 1-0 win.
Nordi Mukiele's deflected strike was enough to secure all three points for the newly-promoted side, who have all but sealed their survival in the Premier League.
mukiele-sunderland-spurs
Regis Le Bris has worked a phenomenal job for the Black Cats this season, leading a team that won the play-offs to finish above Leeds United and Burnley, who won automatic promotion.
A big part of the team's success on the pitch in the Premier League in the 2025/26 campaign has been their exceptional recruitment work, including the signing of Mukiele.
How Sunderland cracked the secret to surviving in the Premier League
Sunderland came up to the Premier League last summer knowing that the previous six teams to come up from the Championship had all been relegated in their first year in the top-flight.
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The Black Cats knew, therefore, that they needed to spend money to bolster their squad, but it was the way in which they spent their money that caught the eye.
Kristjaan Speakman and Le Bris swooped to make several experienced signings to form a strong core to the team, including Mukiele from PSG, Granit Xhaka from Bayer Leverkusen, and Omar Alderete from Getafe.
They signed a group of players who were experienced in major European leagues, whether that was the Premier League, Bundesliga, or LaLiga, and that allowed them to hit the ground running in the top-flight for Sunderland because they were used to the intensity of the league.
Whilst Mukiele and Xhaka have been standout stars for Sunderland after both joining from European giants with vast experience under their belts, there is another summer signing who is quickly becoming an even better addition.
Sunderland star is becoming a better signing than Granit Xhaka and Nordi Mukiele
Xhaka, 33, and Mukiele, 28, arrived with plenty of experience and were able to hit the ground running as instant stars for Le Bris, playing a pivotal role in the club's success on the pitch.
Xhaka-Sunderland
However, Brian Brobbey is quickly becoming an even better signing than both of them because he has been phenomenal since a slow start to life at the Stadium of Light.
Signed from Ajax for £17.3m last summer, the Dutchman had no prior experience in one of Europe's top five leagues and did not score his first Premier League goal until November, as he started the campaign behind Wilson Isidor in the pecking order.
He has since gone on to score six goals from 4.66 xG in 16 starts in the Premier League for the Black Cats. No other player in the squad has scored more than four goals.
In the 1-0 win over Spurs on Sunday, Brobbey showcased why he is such an impactful player for the club even when he is not scoring goals, because he was a monster in the centre-forward position.
Vs Spurs Brian Brobbey
Minutes 89
Shots 2
Ground duels 13
Aerial duels 3
Fouls won 4
Fouls committed 4
The 24-year-old powerhouse competed in a whopping 16 duels, more than any other Sunderland player, and won a game-high four fouls for his side, which could have been even higher on another day if decisions went his way.
He was a nightmare for Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven to deal with throughout the afternoon, as the forward constantly backed into the centre-backs and held the ball up to bring his team up the pitch.
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Brobbey is the perfect number nine for a midtable or relegation-fighting team in the Premier League because of his outstanding physical attributes and intelligence when tussling with defenders.
He is quickly becoming an even better signing than Mukiele and Xhaka because he is as impactful, through his goals and hold-up play, whilst he is also four years younger than the former and nine years younger than the latter.
The Dutchman is brilliant in the present and he has the time left ahead of him to develop further and potentially be sold on for a profit in the future, which is not the case for the other two players.
Lee-Cattermole Related
Le Bris has just unearthed the new Lee Cattermole at Sunderland
Regis Le Bris has hit the jackpot with this Sunderland signing who looks like the new Lee Cattermole.