North East | The perfect transfer window for Sunderland?

Sunderland fan Ryan Gates gives his perspective on a fascinating summer at the Stadium of Light.

Many supporters are calling this the finest transfer window in the club’s history, and it would be hard to find anyone who disagrees.

Sunderland v Brentford

Fourteen new signings have arrived, several promising players have been tied to long-term deals, a new director of football has been appointed, and much of the unwanted squad depth has been cleared out. The club have also managed to sell a number of useful but non-essential players at a profit. The end result is a squad that, for the first time in years, looks capable of competing with established Premier League sides.

Marc Guiu going back to Chelsea was an unexpected twist, but Sunderland moved swiftly and decisively, recruiting Ajax striker Brian Brobbey to fill the gap. Other arrivals may not grab the same headlines, yet together they have given the squad both balance and depth. The sense is that the ownership have provided the best possible platform to secure Premier League survival.

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For a newly promoted team, it is difficult to imagine how this summer could have gone more smoothly. The club has delivered in every area, and the mood on Wearside reflects that. 

Sunderland now have a group of players that look equipped to take on the demands of top-flight football, and few opponents will relish the prospect of facing them.

Supporters are full of optimism and gratitude towards Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, whose backing has underpinned this transformation. Many are already calling it a near-perfect window.

"We broke the spending record for promoted clubs to buck a trend..."

The club spent £161.7m on transfer fees this summer, almost £20m more than any other promoted club in Premier League history. We simply have to buck this recent trend. 

The previous benchmark was set by Nottingham Forest, who invested £142m in 2022. Aston Villa are the only other newcomers to push beyond the £100m mark, committing £127m in 2019. Both Forest and Villa managed to stay up, but the challenge of consolidation has only grown, with the gap between the Championship and the Premier League wider than ever.

The statistics were sobering for some of us. In each of the past two seasons, all three promoted teams were relegated immediately. The response has been a surge in spending, with clubs desperate to bridge the divide. Yet money alone does not guarantee survival. Southampton, Ipswich and Leicester spent a combined £276.5m last summer, only to amass 59 points between them, the lowest collective return by promoted sides in a 38-game Premier League campaign.

Sunderland, Burnley and Leeds have shown no hesitation in following suit, committing more than £350m between them. Early results suggest they may have struck a better balance, already collecting 13 points, the best start by promoted clubs since 2016-17. A year ago, the newcomers had yet to earn a single point by this stage, underlining that success depends less on the size of investment and more on how well it is spent.