A couple of days ago, a minor yet predictable social media-driven kerfuffle broke out when it was suggested that Sunderland wouldn’t be looking to add reinforcements in central midfield this summer, with a rumours of move for Juventus and France prospect Képhren Thuram nixed before we’d even had the chance to start humming La Marseillaise and bask in the prospect of bringing another young European talent into the fold.
Naturally, the reactions to this news weren’t positive, as if the fact that we do
need to add greater depth in the engine room wasn’t something we all knew of and that those making the decisions on recruitment have a blind spot when it comes to that area of the pitch.
That said, it most certainly is an area that we can’t afford to neglect this summer.
Indeed, for living proof of this, all you have to do is cast your mind back to midway through the 2025/2026 season, when Granit Xhaka missed a handful of games through injury and the team’s form began to fluctuate somewhat.
In the Swiss star’s absence, the Sunderland midfield looked listless; a little bit flat and lacking in dynamism, as well as being shorn of the inspirational leadership and organisational qualities that he brings to the fore.
It’s fair to say that this is something of a conundrum — albeit not a problematic one.
In the first instance, Xhaka still has plenty left in the tank and will doubtless be a key player during 2026/2027, but the question of how we’ll adapt and continue to progress if he’s ever absent is undeniably pressing, not least when you consider how demanding next season is sure to be.
However, any fears about Sunderland’s summer transfer strategy amid headline-grabbing tweets from journalists should really have been eased in midweek when Florent Ghisolfi and Tom Burwell broke cover to outline the approach we might take when it comes to preparing the squad for the 2026/2027 season.
Burwell confirmed that financially, the club is on solid ground, and the likelihood of a “quality over quantity” approach being taken was also stressed, with Ghisolfi drawing relevant comparisons between last summer’s head-spinning rebuild and the situation in which we currently find ourselves — and he was right to do so.
A complete overhaul isn’t needed and nor should it be demanded.
Instead, this summer’s recruitment drive should really be about fine-tuning, augmenting what we have and ensuring that the squad isn’t lopsided and ill-prepared when the new season kicks off.
It’s still very early days and there’s a good chance that the World Cup might have an impact, but I would suggest that seven or eight new players — a mixture of established or semi-established names and young prospects — will arrive at Sunderland this summer, possibly with one “big ticket” sale completed in order to balance it out.
There’ll be some major housekeeping and trimming of the numbers to undertake when it comes to the fringe players, with Harrison Jones moving on and Milan Aleksić departing for Partizan Belgrade, but assuming we can keep the bulk of the first team squad together, the club’s transfer dealings surely won’t be anywhere near as radical as those we experienced last summer.
Does the midfield require attention? Yes.
At the time of writing, Sunderland’s options aren’t exactly what you’d call underwhelming, and I’m particularly eager to see how Habib Diarra fares when he returns and reaps the benefit of a full and intensive pre-season campaign, but the phrase “succession planning” currently feels more relevant than ever as we consider what the future might bring.
Identifying, recruiting and integrating Xhaka’s long-term replacement should and more than likely will be very high on the list of priorities this summer.
The man’s impact at Sunderland will be spoken about twenty or thirty years from now, but the harsh reality is that he won’t be around forever and when you factor in a Europa League campaign to sit alongside what’ll be another gruelling domestic schedule, the capacity to rest the skipper when necessary — albeit without a colossal drop off in quality — is something we simply can’t afford to do without.
Fundamentally, this is all academic; in fact, there’s probably more chance of Nick Woltemade winning next season’s European Golden Boot than there is of Sunderland failing to bring any new midfielders to the Stadium of Light this summer.
The fact of the matter is that in a relatively short period of time, Ghisolfi and his associates built a squad that proved good enough over thirty eight games to defy the doubters and to bring European football to Wearside for the first time in half a century — and it might’ve been an even more memorable and history-making campaign had a handful of fixtures panned out differently.
Such an achievement has afforded the recruitment team as much credit in the bank as they could wish for, and I have full belief that they’ll be working flat out to ensure we sign the calibre of player that can give us the best chance of competing strongly next season.
In the ‘clicks equals cash’ world of modern sporting media practices, I understand the need for reporters to seek engagement and to stir up a bit of discussion here and there.
It’s particularly commonplace when we enter this vacuum-like phase of the offseason, but those calling the shots on incomings and outgoings clearly have Sunderland’s best interests at heart. They’ve earned the right to go about their business as they see fit, and that’s more than good enough for me.
You may remember that back in 2007/2008, one semi-sarcastic phrase that gained traction as we undertook our summer transfer activity was “Keano Says Relax”. In 2026, given the impact he’s already made, perhaps it’s time to get “Florent Says Chill Out” into circulation.
These are serious people with serious ability. We’re in good hands, and everyone knows it.
