Sunderland returns to the Premier League after eight years away, and anything other than survival this season is a gift.
Sunderland are still working hard behind the scenes for what will be a massive summer transfer window at the Stadium of Light as they return to the Premier League. With a 2-1 victory over Sheffield United, the Black Cats regained their place in English football’s top tier after an eight-year exile.
Regis Le Bris performed an excellent job guiding the Wearsiders to promotion, and his pragmatic approach could benefit the club in the future.
However, everyone affiliated with the club understands that significant investment is required to avoid relegation to the second tier. No club that has achieved promotion in the previous two seasons has managed to avoid relegation the following year.
Sunderland set for shrewd transfer
appointment. Sunderland are close to appointing Florent Ghisolfi, former RC Lens and AS Roma sporting director, as director of football, to work alongside current director Kristjaan Speakman.
The French transfer chief is well-known in his native country and Regis Le Bris knows him from their time at Lorient.
Ghisolfi was desired by several European and Saudi Arabian clubs, but the Wearsiders appear to have won the fight for his signature.
Though not yet announced, if the club can get the contract over the line, it’ll be a savvy appointment, having uncovered a lot of jewels throughout his short sporting director career.
Sunderland understands that they will not have the financial resources to compete with the Premier League’s established clubs and will have to find a number of hidden gems, as they have done since Kyril Louis-Dreyfus came over the club. Ghisolfi discovered new Spurs defender Kevin Danso while at RC Lens, where he cost around £4.2 million before the French club transferred him to Spurs for more than £20 million in January. He also acquired new Sunderland signing Enzo Le Fee as one of his first AS Roma recruits last summer.
The French transfer chief possesses all of the qualities required to help Sunderland consolidate in the top tier and move further from there.
£200 million transfer expenditure with PSR warning
Sunderland might spend up to £200 million in the current summer transfer window, according to football finance expert Kieran Maguire, but the club has been warned of a £61 million PSR.
“The sides promoted, they’re having to operate to a certain extent with one hand tied behind their back because the established Premier League teams can lose £105million, but Sunderland, for example, can only lose £61million because you’re restricted if you’ve just been promoted,” Maguire said in an interview.
“So it’s more tough. Sunderland has the financial resources to spend lavishly. They may spend £200 million, if they had it in their bank account. Leeds are likely to spend between £100 million and £150 million, while Burnley might easily spend more than £100 million.
“So they can spend for public relations purposes. That is one thing. It’s similar to having a credit card limit. It does not necessarily imply that spending within your means is a desirable thing.
The football finance guru went on to explain how Premier League PSR works for newly promoted clubs in comparison to life in the Championship.
“The way that the system works is that you’re assessed over your last three years,” he informed us. “So, if you’ve spent the last three years in the Premier League, you could lose £35 million each year.”
Therefore, a club that has been in the Premier League for a few years, such as Wolves, Palace, or Brighton, may lose £105 million. You can lose up to £35 million in your first season in the Premier League if you were just promoted from the Championship.
“However, you can only lose £13 million in each Championship season. An example of this would be Sunderland, who were promoted from League One to the Championship.
“Now they’re in the Premier League, £35million plus two x £13million means that they’ve got a £61million, Leeds have got a £61 million and Burnley, because they’ve had two years in the Premier League, they can lose £83million.”
Transfer emphasis and scouting assignment for the European U21s Championship
Before returning to the top flight, Sunderland wants to increase its alternatives at full-back and on the wings, according to Chronicle Live. In addition to replacing Jobe Bellingham in the middle of midfield, they obviously need a replacement for Tommy Watson, who joined Brighton.
After speaking with potential transfer targets over the past few weeks, Kristjaan Speakman is well aware of the need to add Premier League experience to the team’s roster of talented young players.
The two aforementioned departures have already allowed the Wearsiders to acquire nearly £40 million, and they have a big transfer fund to draw from.
While at the European U21s Championship this summer, Sunderland reportedly had their eye on Denmark U21 midfielder Clement Bischoff, according to Mike McGrath of the Telegraph.
Through their recruitment method, the Black Cats have been able to improve their first team and attract up-and-coming young players that they can help develop and sign for profit. His parent club, Brøndby, and Brighton have previously discussed a possible transfer.
He has already earned 31 senior games at midfield and left back at the age of 19. Vladyslav Vanat, a Ukrainian striker who scored 17 goals for Dynamo Kyiv the previous season, has also been linked to Sunderland.
His present team is reportedly holding out for a £20 million fee because they don’t want to lose their star striker before their Champions League campaign. Another player competing in the U21s championship is Vanat.
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