Sunderland are closing to landing their first signing of the summer transfer window
Sunderland are closing in on the addition of 34-year-old free agent Thomas Meunier.
The Black Cats have jumped ahead of Valencia and Hull City in the race to sign the right back, who was undergoing a medical on Wearside on Tuesday.
So why are Sunderland signing him and what will he bring to the squad? Phil Smith breaks it down…
Leadership and cultural impact
Though Sunderland showed flexibility in their recruitment strategy to sign players such as Granit Xhaka and Nordi Mukiele last summer, the vast majority of their investment was again in younger players and as such they had one of the youngest squads in the Premier League.
As they step into European competition for the first time in over 50 years, they feel a little bit of extra experience and leadership in the squad would be very welcome and as such, the opportunity to land a player of Meunier’s standing was too good to pass up.
Meunier has competed at the top level of the game for a decade, richly experienced at international and European level. Sunderland are proud of the culture they have built behind the scenes at the Academy of Light, with Florent Ghisolfi and Régis Le Bris determined to establish the club consistently in the top ten of the Premier League. It’s the mentality that saw Sunderland push for Europe after hitting 40 points in March last summer, driven by players such as Xhaka and Mukiele. The feeling is that Meunier can reinforce that and help preserve and drive the standards in training and behind the scenes.
Squad dynamics
The signing looks to spell the end of Sunderland’s pursuit of Lutsharel Geertruida on a permanent deal, with the expectation now behind the scenes that the popular loanee will now move on elsewhere.
There will be some understandable sadness to this, given the way that Geertruida made such a positive impact at the end of last season to secure a memorable win at St James’ Park and a place in the Europa League. The reality is that even accounting for those performances, the dynamics that made a deal tricky hadn’t changed. Sunderland would be committing a big chunk of their transfer and wage budget to sign a player who wasn’t necessarily first choice for his position, and the player himself would be taking a big leap of faith to permanently join a side where there was no guarantee of regular starts.
As most insiders expected, Geertruida will likely go either to an elite club as a squad option or a team where he will be first choice right back while in turn, Sunderland free up a chunk of their budget to invest in priority areas.
Meunier is absolutely coming to Sunderland to compete and to play but at 34 will be arriving fully understanding his place and role within the squad.
A point of difference on the pitch
Last year, Granit Xhaka made a mockery of chat around his age by playing regularly and covering huge distances week in, week out. That was a testament to his professionalism and dedication to preparation and recovery, and though he hasn’t played as regularly there are similarities in that Meunier has proved himself to be very durable.
Meunier made 35 appearances across all competitions for Lille last season of which 28 were starts, and 46 the campaign before that. He has continued to contribute at international level during that time, showing he still is physically more than capable of impacting games.
What’s also very notable is that in key areas his statistics have remained very high during that time, and he has the capacity to offer a real point of difference to Le Bris. Whereas Trai Hume excels in areas such as defensive contributions and duels, Meunier is more of a creative full back. Per Opta stats, last season he was in the top 20% of top-five league full backs for expected assists per 90 minutes played, accurate long balls, big chances created and successful dribbles. He was also in the top 25% for touches and touches in the opposition box, highlighting his profile as a full back who likes to get on the ball and make things happen.
His defensive numbers are considerably lower, particularly compared to most of the defenders in Le Bris’s squad but he does rank very well for recoveries and possession won in the final third. Again, this underlines his profile as a forward-thinking full back who can offer a different tactical option for Le Bris. It is no surprise given all of this that he has played quite a lot as a wing back or a right-sided midfielder in his career so far, something Le Bris could reprise on occasions this season. Meunier brings cover and leadership to the group, but also retains some elite footballing abilities that aren’t really replicated elsewhere in the defensive unit.
Crucial versatility
By increasing Sunderland’s depth at right back, it means that if injuries and suspension hit the squad then Le Bris has the option of moving Nordi Mukiele to centre back and Trai Hume to left back or slightly further up the pitch.
The Black Cats are still expected to be active in defensive areas with another left-sided defender clearly high on their agenda, but Meunier’s arrival unlocks the versatility of some of the other defenders already in the group.
Continue Reading