As transfer deadline day unfolded its last hours’ sagas, one of the main stories was the drama of the transfer of Malick Fofana from French club Lyon. Despite apparently agreeing a deal with both the player and club earlier in the day, it emerged that, in a move we have been on the wrong end of countless times in the past, Crystal Palace had moved in to try and hijack the transfer at the last moment.
Except this time it didn’t happen. More reports unfolded as the hours ticked by towards the transfer
cut-off, that not only had Sunderland hijacked the hijackers, but that our own Chairman, Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, was at the very heart of persuading the player to come to the North-East and had his own private jet sat on the tarmac at Lyon waiting to pick up Fofana.
It has to be pointed out that Palace had sent their own jet at the same time, should Fofana opt for them instead, but it was the news of the personal involvement of our chairman that really caught the attention of many, despite having a Director of Football – Florent Ghisolfi – to take care of such things.
It’s not the first time we have heard of Kyril’s personal involvement in transfers. It was he – along with his private jet – who was reported to have been the final act of persuasion in bringing Granit Xhaka to the Stadium of Light last summer.
All crucial personal involvement from our chairman to push key transfers over the line, which I really couldn’t imagine Ellis Short, for one, and most of our other chairmen of the past 50 years undertaking.
Back in our previous Premier League incarnation, it was a repeated cycle for Sunderland to miss out on a succession of coveted signings, with the norm of the club being ‘unable to get the deal over the line’. Make no mistake, there were some players who went on to be big names who would have made a difference if we had shown a bit more ambition to sign them when the opportunity was there – Virgil van Dijk and Leighton Baines are two that spring to mind.
Then there were the players who were ready and wanted to come – Marcos Alonso – and let’s not remind ourselves of Yann M’Vila. Finally, there was what you have to call the complete un-ambition, when we had some good players and sold them all off over the space of six months – Darren Bent, Jordan Henderson, Simon Mignolet and Asamoah Gyan.
I bring all these uncomfortable memories up because, as much as our transfer dealings last summer impressed in the quality brought in – and this summer’s recruits will hopefully turn out to be the same – the thing that has been a constant is the level of ambition shown.
In getting towards 50 years of observing our transfer dealings and the way we have gone about them, the standard of player recruited, the number of times a possible deal has fallen through, I have never seen such ambition in our recruitment as there has been over the last two summers, and also, when a transfer target has been identified, such sheer will to get the deal over the line – to make sure we get our man.
Recruitment defines a club and where it finishes.
Particularly last summer, it was Sunderland that were winning the race over other Premier League clubs in a succession of signings, who would turn out to be key not only in the aim of staying in the Premier League, but exceeding all expectations in finishing seventh and qualifying for the Europa League.
It comes from the very top – Kyril Louis-Dreyfus – and filters down through the ranks of the recruitment team. Ellis Short, I think, had a private jet, but he wouldn’t have parked it on the tarmac at Lyon while he personally tried to persuade Malick Fofana to join our ranks. Niall Quinn had ambition but not the wedge to have put us in the room to talk to the player and, as for Stewart Donald? We would still be in League One.
Our chairman has been with us for five years now and has still got well over another year until he hits 30 years of age! Young or not, the operation he has built at Sunderland is by no means green behind the ears. Many pundits have rightly sung the praises of our recruitment and the way the club performed last season.
Then you look at the way the club have made sure we have kept hold of our key players over the summer, and our chairman has got involved to push this summer’s deals over the line. Some would think he would be happy with last season’s seventh-placed finish – but I think he wants more.
