Régis Le Bris is a calm man, but even he must have been sick of the amount of times he was asked by reporters about the possibility of qualifying for Europe during the previous campaign. It never showed however, and even when asked by North East Football TV whether it did bother him, he politely made clear that he often did not realise.
Reporters asked, of course, because it was always a distinct possibility. Sunderland were always in the mix, and even if Le Bris never wanted to publicly admit that, he and his players knew internally how close they were, and spoke about it being a target. Therefore, Sunderland will have undoubtedly been preparing for a continental adventure.
It’s worth noting that this has happened before with Le Bris and Sunderland. As was well pointed out by Michael Walker of The Athletic, Sunderland were incredibly well prepared for Premier League life, such was their proximity to the top of the Championship last season. They secured a Play-Off spot early, and following their promotion, they had a well thought out strategy, which allowed them to navigate the transfer window and buy successfully.
Heading into the Europa League, they will need to buy well again. They perhaps will not need to buy to the same numerical extent that they did last summer, when 15 new players headed to the Stadium of Light, but they will need to add depth. Competing on the both domestic and European fronts requires a squad that can be rotated, otherwise one or more competitions will be severely impacted. Just last season we all saw how Nottingham Forest’s Premier League campaign was hurt by their exploits in Europe.
Until the final weeks of the season, Forest were in a relegation battle, whilst simultaneously making it to the semi final stage of the Europa League. Whilst Sunderland would love a run to the latter end of the Europa League, it cannot allow them to be dragged into a scrap to survive in the top flight, and undo all of the hard work that has been done at the club to get them where they are.
North East neighbours Newcastle United have seen drop-offs when playing in the Champions League alongside domestic competitions, owing in part to their squad not having enough depth to cope, with injuries also being a huge hindrance. Last season, Newcastle tried to compete in both domestic cups as well as the Premier League, which whilst noble, was, in hindsight, not really possible.
What Sunderland’s transfer policy actually is commands more intrigue, however. Depth, as mentioned, is needed but where will that come from? Last summer’s policy saw the majority of players signed from Europe, which is not uncommon, but the Black Cats were clever, and went for players who were not household names - Granit Xhaka being the only exception. Most however, such as Habib Diarra, Noah Sadiki, Nordi Mukiele, Reinildo Mandava and Chemsdine Talbi, still had top level experience and some even had European calibre, which all came together to form one cohesive unit.
The only slight concern is that given the players were not household names, and therefore not fully at their peak, they did appear weaker without Xhaka, when the Swiss midfielder missed games through injury. Could it therefore be the case that Sunderland need to buy more Granit Xhaka types?
Well, maybe, but in competing for big names, Sunderland will eventually come up against clubs who can pay more in wages for these players, which as Newcastle United found out last summer, will often see them miss out. Xhaka was a brilliant coup, but not all will come as willingly. So, what is the alternative?
That would be to continue buying potential from Europe at lower prices (and lower wages). That would be the easier and most cost-effective way to add depth, but will it leave them struggling again if Xhaka, and others who are now more Premier League-developed, get injured as a result of the fixture pile up?
These are the options facing Le Bris, Director of Football, Florent Ghisolfi and, of course, Chairman, Kyril Louis-Dreyfus. This brings us full circle however, because as was made clear, Sunderland will have been preparing for this window for some time now, and that decision will have already been made. It is now a case of executing the plan and delivering the goods, as they did last summer. Kristjaan Speakman, who was influential in his role as Sporting Director, is no longer at the club, but those who remain must be confident in their own abilities.
A season of excitement and intrigue lies in wait for Sunderland then, but not letting it turn sour is highly dependent on what happens during the coming weeks. They have been here before, now they must do it again.
