Premier League 2025-26 Preview No 17: Sunderland

Guardian writers’ predicted position: 19th (NB: this is not needfully Louise Taylor’s prediction but nan mean of our writers’ tips)

Last season’s position: 4th successful nan Championship

Prospects

Spending heavy is nary guarantee of Premier League endurance – conscionable inquire Ipswich – but promoted Sunderland look to person invested beautiful shrewdly – spending astir £132m connected their 11 signings to date.

The all-important cardinal midfield section contains existent expertise successful nan style of nan talented Enzo Le Fée, whose indebtedness from Roma has turned into a general transfer, nan Arsenal and Bayer Leverkusen aged boy Granit Xhaka and nan highly rated £30m Senegal and erstwhile Strasbourg midfielder Habib Diarra. The knowledgeable left-back Reinildo played Champions League shot for Atlético Madrid past play and nan Chelsea loanee striker Marc Guiu comes highly recommended.

Even truthful past season’s star, Jobe Bellingham, now astatine Borussia Dortmund, will beryllium missed and nan manager, Régis Le Bris, faces rather a situation successful blending truthful galore newcomers into a cohesive unit. The left-sided Paraguay cardinal defender Omar Alderete – who finalised his £10.4m move from Getafe connected Tuesday greeting – looks a smart addition, but disappointing pre-season results bespeak a squad who perchance still hardly recognise each different if they walk connected nan street.

If Sunderland are not rather copying Nottingham Forest, who spent £142m connected 21 players aft being promoted successful 2022, they would beryllium very happy to emulate Forest and guarantee Premier League endurance earlier starting to thrive. Re-establishing themselves successful nan apical tier aft an eight-year absence will beryllium reliable but nan nine are surely throwing everything astatine nan challenge. Stadium of Light regulars will dream first-team roles are recovered for much-loved players of past season’s promotion including nan striker Wilson Isidor and, supra all, nan talented local-born midfielder Chris Rigg. Harmony disconnected nan transportation and unity connected it were formidably beardown past term; tin that glorious tone beryllium recreated astatine a clip erstwhile a bid of playoff winners look group for nan exit aliases nan bench?

The manager

The 49-year-old Le Bris ended his first play connected Wearside by choreographing Sunderland’s dramatic Wembley triumph against Sheffield United successful May’s playoff final. A erstwhile Rennes and Laval defender, nan Frenchman holds a doctorate successful physiology and biomechanics and a certificate successful nan intelligence training of elite athletes. He spent a decade arsenic a younker coach astatine Lorient successful his autochthonal Brittany earlier taking complaint of nan first squad successful 2022, pinch his emotion of trigonometry underpinning a coaching accuracy that sees shot arsenic being each astir triangles. Le Bris began learning English, almost from scratch, nan aforesaid year. He has conscionable signed a lucrative, semipermanent contract.

Sunderland’s caput coach, Régis Le Bris, faces nan situation of blending successful tons of newcomers to forge a cohesive unit. Photograph: Ian Horrocks/Sunderland AFC/Getty Images

Off-field picture

Sunderland are owned by nan 27-year-old Swiss-French businessman, and spot money billionaire, Kyril Louis-Dreyfus. He has presided complete a strategy of recruiting gifted, if raw, young players from crossed nan world. The successful implementation has been masterminded by nan sporting director, Kristjaan Speakman. The second has been joined this summertime by nan erstwhile Nice and Roma sporting head Florent Ghisolfi, who has assumed nan aforesaid domiciled and has been restocking nan squad. The club’s gradual gentrification continues pinch nan Michelin-starred cook Tommy Banks opening a decidedly upmarket restaurant, Banks connected nan Wear, astatine nan 49,000-capacity Stadium of Light.

Star signing

The overmuch dressed up Xhaka, nan 32-year-old Switzerland skipper and erstwhile Arsenal cardinal midfielder, has joined for a interest that could scope £17m aft a successful stint astatine Bayer Leverkusen. “I consciousness I’m fresh to thief Sunderland pinch my acquisition but besides pinch value arsenic well,” he said. His recruitment constitutes rather a connection because it is simply a important deviation from nan board’s argumentation of acquiring promising youngsters pinch precocious resale potential. The strength of Xhaka’s tempo-setting crippled should entreaty to fans and nan raucous Stadium of Light looks a cleanable shape for his well-calibrated passing scope and committed marque of leadership.

Stepping up

After scoring six goals (all successful nan Conference League) successful 16 first-team appearances for Chelsea Guiu arrives connected a season’s loan. The talk successful westbound London is that nan erstwhile Barcelona guardant could beryllium arsenic bully arsenic Cole Palmer and Sunderland fought disconnected sizeable guidance to get nan 19-year-old for a season. “I spot myself arsenic a powerful striker who tin make a large quality connected and disconnected nan ball,” he said. “I pridefulness myself connected being a earthy goalscorer. This twelvemonth astatine Sunderland is simply a immense opportunity for me.”