Four years ago, Sunderland beat Wycombe Wanderers (2-0) in the League One play-off final at Wembley to begin a journey few could have predicted. Next season, the Black Cats will play in the Europa League. It was a victory against Chelsea this Sunday (2-1), on the last day of the Premier League, which offered the club its ticket to Europe after 53 years of absence on the continental scene. As a symbol, it was Trai Hume, a Northern Irish defender recruited for nearly 250,000 euros in January 2022 while the club was vegetating in the third division, who opened the scoring with a volley from the right. “I didn’t think we could get there and reach Europe, but we did. We will give everything next season», Confided the player after the final whistle.
The real turning point in Sunderland’s recent history comes in the summer of 2024. After two disappointing seasons in the Championship, the club made the bold gamble Régis Le Bris. The Breton technician, who had just completed twelve years of good and loyal service in Lorient, arrived in the unknown on the banks of the Wear. His first season is far from being a smooth ride. During a fairly interesting season, Sunderland nevertheless finished 24 points behind automatically promoted Leeds and Burnley, and scored only 58 goals in 46 games. Nevertheless, the club qualified for the play-off final thanks to a stoppage-time goal against Coventry, then overthrew Sheffield United at Wembley in the same scenario. Sunderland then made their return to the Premier League last summer.
Sunderland defied predictions in the Premier League thanks to a big transfer window
Back in the English elite for the first time since 2017, Sunderland was viewed with skepticism. In the previous two seasons, the three promoted clubs had all been relegated, with the worst combined points total in the history of the championship. However, Le Bris and his players brushed aside these predictions. They held off champions Arsenal at Manchester City and won both matches against Chelsea and neighbors Newcastle. “It’s not real yet”admitted Hume. “At the start of the season, no one gave us a chance to maintain, let alone go to Europe. We worked like crazy and we fully deserve it.»
The key to this success lies in an ambitious transfer window carried out last summer. Sunderland spent 185 million euros on fifteen recruits, but where Leicester, Southampton and Ipswich had collectively paid more than 300 million euros before falling back the previous season, the Black Cats knew how to bank on the right players. Brian Brobbey, arrived from Ajax, has established himself as the offensive spearhead with seven goals in the Premier League. Granit Xhaka was an immediate bargain with his Premier League experience. Nordi Mukiele brought experience and leadership to the defense, while goalkeeper Robin Roefs emerged as one of the pleasant surprises of the season.
The Le Bris paw conquered the Premier League
Beyond the recruits, it is the way in which Le Bris has merged everything into a coherent collective that commands admiration. His system extracted the best from each element. He knew how to integrate Enzo Le Fée, whom he had known in Lorient, as an essential cog in his system. Noah Sadiki, with his energy and quality on the ball, was also crucial. “Le Bris did an incredible job of uniting the group and making everyone believe that they could accomplish anything”greeted former striker Jermaine Beckford. In response to all this praise, Le Bris wanted to be humble despite his great ambitions: “what we showed this season and the previous one was to be together. You can be ambitious, but you have to work hard.”
Thus, Sunderland finished seventh in the Premier League and were able to make their supporters proud, present in droves at the stadium, with an average of more than 46,000 spectators at home at the Stadium of Light. For the first time since their FA Cup victory in 1973, and only the second time in their history, the Black Cats have secured European qualification. This club, made famous well beyond its borders by the Netflix series Sunderland ‘Til I Die, is now writing a new page in its history and could therefore face OM next season in C3.
