Sunderland Is Shopping To Survive In Premier League

Sunderland is back in the Premier League for the first time since 2017.

It feels longer.

The club fell as low as the third tier of English soccer and had all its dirty laundry aired in public to millions around the world in Netflix documentary “Sunderland Til’ I Die.” Now back in the big time, The Black Cats are breaking the bank to stay there.

The top of the list of Premier League spenders is full of familiar names. Champions Liverpool has spent in excess of $350 million and looks like spending more. Chelsea doesn’t seem to take a summer (or winter) off from giant signings, Arsenal and Manchester City have opened their wallets for a title push, and Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are spending big in the hope of consigning last seasons’ misery to the history books.

But below that, Sunderland is the Premier League club that at the time of writing has spent the most. Once Granit Xhaka’s transfer from Bayer Leverkusen goes through, the Mackems’ total outlay so far this summer will be around $150 million.

Is Sunderland “Doing A Fulham”?

That spending should be put in context though as the club needed to replace midfield star Jobe Bellingham who was signed for big money by Borussia Dortmund, and it also had to drop $26 million to make Enzo Le Fee’s loan from AS Roma permanent, so that’s around $60 million spent just to stand still.

Sunderland’s signings on the whole are relatively young and the club will likely recoup their fees when it eventually sells those players on, even if relegated. Granit Xhaka is the outlier, but the Switzerland captain who was on the 2024 Ballon d’Or list adds vital Premier League experience.

In past seasons, Sunderland would’ve been mocked for spending beyond its means. It would’ve been accused of “doing a Fulham” referring to the London club’s failed 2018/19 spending spree. But now, fans and pundits are starting to realize that this is the level of spending needed to have a chance at Premier League survival. Nottingham Forest showed how this can be done in 2022/23, spending $190 million, pushing profitability and sustainability rules beyond the limit to create a squad capable of competing.

Last season, Ipswich and Southampton both spent somewhere in the region of $140 million but even this wasn’t enough to survive.

Sunderland Packing The Midfield

Sunderland’s spending has been concentrated in its midfield, with Le Fee, Habib Diarra, Noah Sadiki and Xhaka all joining the club to add competition in the middle of the park, which already was one of Sunderland’s stronger areas containing captain Dan Neil and the impressive 18-year-old Chris Rigg.

This focus on midfield could be Sunderland’s undoing.

Its top scorer last season, Wilson Isidor, only managed 13 goals in the Championship and none of the summer signings have been prolific at anything close to Premier League level. Unless Isidor or the 20-year-old Eliezer Mayenda has a breakout season, the Mackems could end up with much of the ball but little end product.

Sunderland Defense Needs Strengthening

Meanwhile, Sunderland’s defense was relatively average for a promoted side, behind Leeds United, Burnley and Sheffield United when it comes to goals conceded, shots conceded and expected goals conceded last season.

Keeping a tight defense and winning games one-nil through set pieces might be unfashionable, but it is more likely to keep a team in the Premier League than trying to match Manchester City at its own passing game.

No team in the past six seasons has been relegated with fewer than 53 goals conceded whereas in three of those seasons, at least one team has stayed up despite scoring fewer than 34 goals. In the 2022/23 season, Leeds United and Leicester City outscored half the league, including Chelsea, and still got relegated.

Sunderland last season didn’t really look to dominate possession in the way the likes of Southampton did when it won promotion the previous season, and the eight counter-attacking goals Sunderland scored last season is a good omen.

But Burnley’s defense last season broke records in the Championship and that hasn’t stopped Scott Parker from strengthening his full-back options this summer.

Sunderland has brought in Reinildo Mandava, previously a benchwarmer at Atletico Madrid, but should also consider other defensive reinforcements.

If Sunderland wants to have a realistic shot of Premier League survival, even more incomings are probably needed. By the end of the transfer window, don’t be surprised if the Mackems’ spending spree goes north of $200 million.