Sunderland’s dream return to the Premier League sees them riding high in the table.They spent £155m in the summer on 14 new signings, and their new-look team has hit the ground running.
Sky Sports News North East reporter Keith Downie examines the secret to their early-season successes… What is the recruitment and recruiting set-up of the club?Sunderland has a unique set-up. The club’s sporting directors are Kristjaan and Florian Speakman. Florian Ghisolfi, a Frenchman, joined the team this summer.
Speakman’s hard work has been a major factor in the club’s return from League One obscurity to the Premier League.
The club’s football structure has been completely rebuilt by him, and he played a major role in setting the groundwork for a positive comeback to the top division.
Like any other club, Sunderland have regional, national and international scouting set-ups, but they also rely heavily on data and analytics.Additionally, owner Kyril Louis Dreyfus and manager Regis Le Bris have also played a big part in a real team effort this summer. The club believes in “what is right and not who is right.”They signed 14 players to compete in the Premier League this summer. It’s impossible for one person to do that. The transfer strategy was driven by someone else. Some early signings targeted months in advance – this wasn’t just a reactive window. Speakman and his staff had two plans last season: one to stay in the Championship and another for promotion.
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Florent Ghisolfi, Director of Football (left), and Krisjaan Speakman, Sporting Director (right), with summer signing Brian Bobbey.
After their victory at Wembley it was obvious they had to invest in their first team so they could compete this season. But even I was shocked by the level to which they pushed it. Around £155m was spent, not including of add-ons.The first of those – Enzo Le Fée – was signed permanently as the final whistle blew at Wembley – due to a condition in his loan deal from Roma. So before they’d even had time to say “we’re back” they’d broken their transfer record with the £17m arrival of the French midfielder whose influence, insiders tell me, had been key to promotion.Ghisolfi then arrived from Roma too, and helped get many of the signings over the line. He officially started work at the start of July, but he’d been working away in the background before then.The first signings (Habib Diarra, £27m from Strasbourg & Noah Sadiki, £14m from Union Saint Gilloise) had been identified before Ghisolfi’s arrival, but the executive’s experience and standing in the game helped land players such as Granit Xhaka, Omar Alderete and Nordi Mukiele.
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Sunderland’s Granit Xhaka, the captain of his team, celebrates their win over Chelsea
Even someone like Brian Brobbey who arrived on Deadline Day had been in contact with the club weeks before that. He initially planned to stay in Ajax, but changed his mind when he learned about the new model of Sunderland and the quality of players that were arriving. Sunderland’s arrival of Xhaka, the on-pitch captain who leads the team on the pitch, has brought a wealth of experience. He is the catalyst that led to many other players following. The arrival of Xhaka on Wearside in August made it easier for other high-profile signings to come to the north east.
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Ghisolfi began his career as a technical director for RC Lens. In this role, he helped the club gain promotion into League 1 and stay there. This led him to move to OGC, then to Roma, in Serie A.
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Ghisolfi gained a solid reputation in Europe through his work for AS Roma and RC Lens
The 14 Sunderland signings have, by and large, been a success, which is unusual in a competitive Premier League where new players often take time to settle.But the Frenchman’s workaholic style fits in perfectly with the lifestyle and values at the core of Sunderland.I spent some time with him last week, where he revealed he’s essentially living between the training ground and the stadium since his arrival in the summer window.He lives and breathes football, and that fits into the ethos of the club as they return to the big time after an eight-year hiatus.How were they able to spend so much money?Sunderland had been stockpiling money for a while, which made their promotion from the ultra-competitive Championship even more impressive.The likes of Ross Stewart and Jack Clarke had been sold in recent windows for a combined £30m, without the club really splashing out on replacements. The plan was to sign young players, improve their skills and then sell them at a profit. It worked.
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Jobe Bellingham said he joined Borussia Dortmund for his own reasons, and not because he wanted to be like his brother.
It was amazing what they accomplished last year despite not having one of the highest wages in the Championship. Even last summer, as they were promoted, they sold Jobe Bellingham and Tom Watson to Borussia Dortmund and Brighton for a combined £40m. The combined fees of those four players for a combined £70m is around half of what they have spent this summer.Sunderland fans were disappointed when Bellingham left for Dortmund in the wake of their play-off triumph, but he has been replaced by three players of quality: Xhaka, Diarra and Sadki.Although Xhaka is coming towards the end of his career, he was a snip at £13m rising to £17m, and for me, Diarra and Sadiki have the ability to reach higher levels in the coming years. Both players were very successful in their early Premier League careers. Sunderland not only has bought well, they have also sold well. In a PSR-based world, that’s crucial. Who convinced Xhaka?
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Granit Xhaka impressed Wearside since his arrival
All senior members of the club were involved. Dreyfus’s convincing of his compatriot would not have been possible without him. He rolled up the red carpet in his luxury private plane and flew to collect Xhaka en route Sunderland.But Xhaka was still unfinished in the Premier League. The two time FA Cup winner at Arsenal, Xhaka, wanted one final try to make it big and chose to move to Wearside over more lucrative Saudi Arabia offers. Xhaka took on the mantle of leadership and has led from the front. I have heard players tell me that they are afraid to make a mistake in training for fear of disappointing Granit.Have Sunderland’s ambitions changed since their positive start?
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Highlights of Chelsea vs Sunderland Premier League match.
Le Bris has stated that the goal of this season is to reach 40 points, and survive. However, a victory against Everton Monday night would be a great start. Football Sunderland supporters could not have imagined that. It would be remiss for them to not look beyond staying up. They have formed a team that has strong bonds and they are doing a great job with recruitment. It feels like each of the new signers has contributed to the success of the club. Sunderland are clever with their recruitment and will only sign players if they believe they can improve the team. Sunderland is very clever in their recruitment. They will only sign players if they think it’s right.
2025-11-03 07:28:00
