Sunderland aren’t going to rest on their laurels now that they’ve tasted success in the Premier League.
The hope will be that the Black Cats continue to punch above their weight and secure safety effortlessly, even if the 1-0 defeat away at Fulham last time out saw Regis Le Bris’ men return to league action, after the international break, looking rusty.
Still, with five impressive league wins already under their belt, the Wearside outfit have more than shown that they belong at the very top of English football.
To get over the line, though, and remain in a comfortable mid-table position, Sunderland could be prepared to flex their spending powers once more, as the January transfer window becomes the talk of the town.
The main incoming being hyped up at the moment is Matteo Guendouzi coming to the Stadium of Light, with Le Bris yet to rule out a statement deal.
Why Guendouzi would be a perfect signing
Once upon a time, Guendouzi worked under Le Bris at Lorient, before the French battler would seal a move to England with Arsenal.
While he wasn’t always showered with praise at the Gunners, he did bow out from his final Premier League season in North London with 4.9 duels won on average across 24 league outings, with more grit centrally perhaps what is required, alongside the likes of Granit Xhaka and Noah Sadiki.
Guendouzi has also matured now into a regular in Serie A with Lazio, away from his previous 57 Premier League appearances at the Emirates, with inviting deliveries such as this one last season, perfect for a commanding Daniel Ballard to latch onto.
In total, the Lazio number eight has six goals and ten assists for the Italian giants.
With an 89% pass accuracy also averaged this season in league action, on top of a high 4.3 ball recoveries being averaged, it’s clear that he won’t move back to England for cheap, as reports suggest that a fee around the £26m mark could do the job.
Sunderland won’t be put off too much, if their excessive summer spending is anything to go by, but a deal in the works for a new star-man might ultimately shove this fan favourite closer to the exit door.
Sunderland's "proper leader" could be on borrowed time
The strange side-effect of winning promotion is that several of the players who clinched Sunderland’s unbelievable return to the Premier League now aren’t quite cut out for the pressures of the big time.
Dan Neil has definitely experienced this first-hand this season so far, with the mega-money arrivals of the aforementioned Xhaka and Sadiki plummeting him down the pecking order, so much so that he has only managed a mere two minutes of action in the bright lights of the Premier League to date.
Staggeringly, if you turn the calendar just back to May, Neil was the memorable captain figure who lifted Sunderland’s jubilant playoff honours at Wembley.
In the regular season, too, the Stadium of Light prodigy also lined up for the Black Cats 44 times, with two goals and three assists coming his way.
Sunderland youngster Harrison Jones would even herald him as a “proper leader” for the club, with Neil rising the ranks to become his boyhood club’s captain figure.
On top of that, he also had admirers in the form of Everton in the bumper summer window, which might be a move he now regrets not accelerating into motion, as he begins to stare the exit door in the face more through lack of gametime than inspired performances.
Journalist James Copley summed it up well when he called him a “bit part” player recently, which is a far cry from his Wembley heroics.
Neil’s last minutes for his hometown club actually came for the U21s as he continues to be frozen out by Le Bris, and with his contract expiring next summer, it’s not a good omen at all for his long-term future at the Premier League newcomers.
Games played
200
Goals scored
12
Assists
20
Promotions
1x
Contract expiry date
June 2026
To make matters worse, if Guendouzi were to arrive, Neil would find himself even further down the Frenchman’s selection list, with the 23-year-old simply unable to compete with the wealth of top-flight experience the Lazio man has under his belt.
It will be intriguing to see if any club gambles on Neil’s services in January, with a cut-price deal potentially on the table for a Championship-experienced promotion winner, who is currently valued at around £7m by Transfermarkt.
If no one does come in for him, expect Sunderland to just run his contract down, particularly if Guendouzi is added to the ever-rising wage bill.
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