The Art of the Deal
This Summer is arguably the biggest in the clubs history. The reality of the situation that Sunderland find themselves in is that we have an untested squad at the top level. The only player we had with Premier League experience was Chris Mephem and the likelihood is that he won’t return for next season. While being untested is neither positive or negative, it means that it is rather difficult to know what to expect. Speakman has managed to build a squad which was good enough to get into Englands top flight however, if you were to ask any Black Cats fan they would probably all agree that the squad needs significant strengthening in order to stay in the top flight.
The transfer window reopens today (16th June 2025) and the fixtures for the upcoming season are released on 18th June 2025 and if no new signings arrive by the end of June you can imagine that questions will no doubt start to be asked. The first friendlies take place on 12th July 2025 and generally once preseason starts it moves quickly as the fixtures come thick and fast. The squad also needs to be thinned out. One of the double edged swords getting promoted has is that it adds a premium to your players which is great if want to sell a high value player or keep a player. It also makes getting rid of a player harder. Many players get salary up lifts and bonus’s for promotion which adds value to their contract and adds value to the player. It means that if a player was on £2.5k a week last season and is now on £5k a week this season may just put a club off buying a player.
Our Director of Football has proved a good deal maker at times and he will need to be operating on both sides of the transfer market to bring in players and ship them out. The sales of Bellingham and Watson certainly gives the club some spending power in the market but other clubs and agents will also know this. There has been a strict wage structure in place which has been rumoured to cause issues in negotiations with players over new contracts. The Signing of Enzo Le Fee may be a sign that structure is changing and will give the club and agents more room to negotiate.
While rumours and stories will flood the media world over the next few weeks, it’s important to remember that no news doesn’t mean nothing is happening. Behind the scenes will no doubt be a hive of activity and seeing how the club has developed over the last few years it’s hard to believe that the club hasn’t planned for this and things were put in motion straight after the final whistle of the play off final. Regis Le Bris has worked with some fine talent during his time in France which has already proved beneficial for Sunderland so hopefully he can continue to work his magic.
I expect to see 5 or 6 signings with 8 or 9 outgoings and a couple of loans for a few of the fringe players. Being in the Premier League also means less games and more time in-between games so players have more time to recover from injuries and new players get to spend more time on the training pitch with the squad. One thing that was pivotal last season was the clear bond between the players. It was a tight nit cohesive group. Bringing new faces into that while also moving some popular faces out can have negative impacts so do not be surprised if the likes of Leo Hjelde are held on to until January to help with a transition to a new dynamic in the dressing room.
overall some big changes are coming and it’s a hell of a job the football department have on their hands but one we should approach with confidence.
