For Sunderland, this is a time of excitement and opportunity.
The Black Cats are a whisker away from their second season back in the Premier League, and it will be interesting to see if Regis Le Bris can make it quite as emphatic as last time.
The French tactician is aiming to maintain a sense of continuity after finishing seventh last term and thus booking a flight into European competition.
He has also acknowledged that the transfer window is proving tricky. Sunderland “have to be really precise” in bringing over the right players to strengthen their squad.
But they’ve done it before, with the shrewd signing of Granit Xhaka an illustration of the Wearsiders’ success since breaking back into the big time.
Why Xhaka has been Le Bris’ finest Sunderland signing
When Xhaka left Bayer Leverkusen last summer, aged 32, and signed for Sunderland in a deal rising to £17m, a few derisory remarks floated across online circles. It was said that Xhaka was moving to a retirement home, but the reality couldn’t be further from such predictions.
Xhaka was arguably “the signing of the season” in the Premier League last year, according to pundit Wayne Rooney. He spearheaded a charge that led to Europe, a first-class leader and all-action star at the heart of the field.
This summer, Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea came sniffing around, but the Black Cats resisted, and Xhaka looks set to stay put for another term at the Stadium of Light.
Sunderland made sweeping changes upon promotion to the Premier League last year, but for all their savvy business, this veteran midfielder takes the cake.
However, Le Bris and co are now pushing to complete their finest deal since landing the Switzerland star.
How Sunderland could seal another Xhaka-like signing
So far this summer, Sunderland have only signed Thomas Meunier from Lille on a free transfer. Given that they are entering European competition, it should go without saying that they need to add more to the building.
Well, every effort is being invested in landing their top summer target, with journalist James Copley revealing that talks with Toulouse remain ongoing to sign top target Dayann Methalie.
Methalie, 20, has emerged as one of the most exciting left-backs in Europe. He broke into Ligue 1 last season and dazzled, so much so that Toulouse have rejected Sunderland’s latest €33m (£28m) offer to bring him over to the Premier League. They are actively looking at alternatives, but remain intent on getting this one done.
When Sunderland wrapped up a deal for Xhaka, it proved the end of a challenging transfer saga that showed persistence can pay off. They had to up their initial package by £7m to sign the Swiss skipper, and it’s fair to say that one paid dividends, the 33-year-old belying his age to take centre-stage throughout the campaign.
Sunderland – Most Premier League Minutes (25/26) | ||
|---|---|---|
Player | Apps | Minutes |
Robin Roefs | 35 | 3,150′ |
Trai Hume | 38 | 3,039′ |
Enzo Le Fee | 36 | 2,936′ |
Granit Xhaka | 34 | 2,901′ |
Noah Sadiki | 33 | 2,896′ |
Methalie would be a contrasting signing to Xhaka. In him, they would be signing elite potential, but he is not there yet. In Ligue 1, the young defender started 22 times across his breakout term, scoring two goals and averaging two tackles per game.
Most impressive was his energy and pace, surging forward and cutting into the danger area. He has a lot of potential, and if Sunderland do pull it off, top outfits will come knocking before long.
Reinildo was certainly something of a mixed bag last season, and the lack of nuance crafted and maintained down the left chanel played into a lack of creativity that could hinder the club if not addressed this summer. Methalie’s pace and storming presence woudl stretch and distort and reshape Le Bris’ build-up patterns.
Methalie is Sunderland’s top summer transfer target for a reason. He has boundless potential, and given the need for more dynamism and progression down the left side, Le Bris must continue to press to pull off his outfit’s best signing since Xhaka.
