It’s never going to be a day of celebration when a musical act of which you happen to be a big fan either loses a member or calls it a day entirely.
I remember feeling shocked and a little saddened, for example, when Blink 182 initially called it a day in 2005 (the official term used was “hiatus” but as far as I was concerned, it was done and dusted — perhaps the result of being young and naive) and Iron Maiden continuing to perform in 2026 without Nicko McBrain behind the drum kit still feels strange,
but nevertheless, the show goes on, the music still hits hard and the fans continue to rally — something that could easily apply to Sunderland once the 2025/2026 season reaches its conclusion and we begin to consider what might come next.
As we approach the end of the campaign with the Lads well-placed to possibly mount what would be an astonishing late push for Europe (something about which I feel very much conflicted — more on that later), I’m feeling three-quarters optimistic about what the future may hold for Sunderland’s own ‘red and white supergroup’, and one quarter anxious about whether the bulk of this team will remain intact for 2026/2027.
To put it bluntly, I love this squad, as we surely all do.
I adore the range of personalities that comprise it, the unique qualities that each player brings to the table and the way they’ve represented our club this season, and I can’t remember ever being privileged enough to bear witness to a Sunderland team of this ilk — certainly not in the Premier League.
The ferocity of Omar Alderete, the class of Reinildo, the aura of Granit Xhaka and the Gallic zest of Enzo Le Fée is quite the combination, but we’ve got Kristjaan Speakman and Florent Ghisolfi to thank for that and it’s been a real joy to watch these lads tackle the challenge of the top flight with such intensity and togetherness.
And perhaps that’s why I can’t shake the nagging doubts about whether we can hope to preserve the core of this group, augment it with quality in key areas and keep the show on the road for 2026/2027.
In one sense, it feels like it could be the polar opposite of last summer, with as much focus on potential departures as incomings, even if we can secure a top ten finish and establish ourselves as an even more attractive prospect for potential arrivals.
To say the least, our squad is absolutely jam-packed with assets; players with enormous potential, some of whom would perhaps benefit from another season or two at Sunderland and others who are further down the line and could be deemed ripe for big-money moves.
Among many, three players around whom I suspect there’ll be a great deal of speculation are Robin Roefs, Noah Sadiki and Brian Brobbey. All hugely influential, all players that represented exceptional value for money when we signed them and that could undoubtedly be real assets for many teams at home and abroad.
Can we fend off any interest for these players, or will it be a case of the lure of a sizeable profit and the prospect of reinvesting the proceeds in the hope of striking gold once again being too strong to resist?
Roefs is arguably the most commanding Sunderland stopper of his age since Thomas Sorensen.
Sadiki has all the attributes to become a midfield controller of the highest class, and the way Brobbey has made husks of centre backs for months on end surely won’t have gone unnoticed by scouts far beyond Wearside, but surely the likes of Dan Ballard, Alderete and maybe even Chemsdine Talbi have their admirers too, and it’ll doubtless be an interesting — and possible transitional — summer on Wearside.
European football of any description would be a fever dream for most supporters, would it not?
Were we to find ourselves in the mix, the need for further high-grade transfer business would become even more pressing.
I’m not entirely convinced that we could retrofit the squad to cope with such demands during one transfer window, but my goodness, what a potential bargaining chip it could represent in terms of both keeping key assets in the fold and selling Sunderland AFC as a destination at which young and talented footballers could ply their trade.
The harsh reality is that for all of the brilliant work undertaken by the likes of Ghisolfi and the now-departed Speakman, there’s a clearly-defined ‘football food chain’ in which clubs such as Sunderland need to operate.
We’ve done incredibly well to elbow our way into the pack of mid-table Premier League teams who are undoubtedly driven by the hope of even greater things to come, but it’s always difficult to keep the apex predators at bay if they come knocking with fat cheques and ruthless intentions.
Let’s hope that the final seven games of 2025/2026 don’t represent ‘the last dance’ for this side, but are instead a precursor to the construction of an even stronger, creative and more exciting Sunderland team.
