First-Team Squad

The Sunderland AFC squad for the 2025/26 Premier League season has 35 players at first-team manager Regis Le Bris’ disposal. The Stadium of Light outfit’s senior side has four goalkeepers, 13 defenders, nine midfielders and nine forwards. This does not include any Black Cats currently out on loan.

Sunderland AFC goalkeepers

Robin Roefs

Robin Roefs joined Sunderland in the summer of 2025 after doubts were raised over the ability of former number one goalkeeper, Anthony Patterson.

The Dutchman quickly proved signing him was a good decision, with a string of incredible performances in the Premier League, including multiple clean sheets and being nominated for the Player of the Month award in September.

Anthony Patterson

The Black Cats promoted Anthony Patterson from Sunderland’s academy into the first-team squad for the first time in 2020. But the goalkeeper did not establish a spot at the Stadium of Light fully until the 2021/22 League One season following his loan move with Notts County.

Simon Moore

Sunderland brought in experienced goalkeeper Simon Moore in June 2024 after he was released from Coventry. The ‘keeper has played for multiple clubs, such as Brentford, Cardiff and Sheffield United.

Blondy Nna Noukeu

Blondy Nna Noukeu joined Sunderland in August 2024 after a successful trial at the Black Cats. The goalkeeper has had previous first-team experience at Crawley Town and Southend United.

Sunderland AFC defenders

Dennis Cirkin

Dennis Cirkin left Tottenham Hotspur to sign with the Sunderland first-team squad in August 2021. The full-back emerged from Spurs’ academy and spent his entire junior career in North London. But he never recorded a single senior outing before turning out with the Black Cats.

Daniel Ballard

Arsenal sold Daniel Ballard to Sunderland for £2m in July 2022 after impressing on loan with Millwall. The defender showed he had Championship potential at the Den following spells at Swindon and Blackpool. He never got a senior outing for Arsenal, who he joined aged eight.

Ballard was one of Sunderland’s heroes in the Championship play-offs, scoring a last-gasp goal against Coventry City to see the Black Cats through to the final. He has remained a regular fixture of Le Bris’ team in the Premier League, too.

Luke O’Nien

Sunderland signed Luke O’Nien from Wycombe Wanderers in July 2018 after their relegation to League One. He had spent three years at the Chairboys after leaving Watford. O’Nien is one of the leaders in the Sunderland squad, despite not really playing anymore since promotion.

Trai Hume

Sunderland added Trai Hume to their first-team squad in January 2022. The transfer marked the first big transfer of the defender’s fledgling career, as well. He had played for Ballymena United as a youth and briefly returned on loan from Linfield FC before joining the Black Cats. Like Ballard, he has remained in the Sunderland first-team despite intense competition for places.

Omar Alderete

Omar Alderete is one of the most successful acquisitions Sunderland made during the summer transfer window in 2025. He arrived from Getafe in Spain with a wealth of experience and instantly established himself as one of Le Bris’ main men at the back.

The Paraguayan is a tough tackler, reads the game brilliantly, and plays with the kind of passion Sunderland fans love.

Reinildo Mandava

The experienced Mozambique international joined from Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2025 and is now competing with Dennis Cirkin to be Sunderland’s main man at left-back. Reinildo Mandava previously enjoyed success in France, winning Ligue 1 with Lille.

Arthur Masuaku

Another highly-experienced addition to Regis Le Bris’ squad this summer, Arthur Masuaku arrived from Besiktas on a free transfer. You may remember him from his time at West Ham between 2016 and 2022. He’s not really featured for Sunderland in 2025/26, though, and may leave the club in the near future.

Lutsharel Geertruida

A deadline day signing for Sunderland, Lutsharel Geertruida arrived on loan from German side RB Leipzig and has made quite the impact for the Black Cats. He’s proven to be versatile across the back four, has put in the dirty work and the hard yards, and was rewarded with a call-up to the Netherlands squad in November.

Nordi Mukiele

There’s a genuine case to be made that Nordi Mukiele has been the signing of the summer for Sunderland (though Granit Xhaka may have something to say about that). The experienced full-back arrived from PSG and hit the ground running for the Black Cats, earning himself a Premier League Player of the Month nomination in October.

Leo Fuhr Hjelde

Leeds United sold Leo Fuhr Hjelde to Sunderland in January 2024 as Michael Beale added to the Black Cats’ first-team squad for £2m. The defender left Elland Road after three years and a loan spell at Rotherham United. He has also enjoyed a stint at Celtic but he never featured.

Aji Alese

Aji Alese left the West Ham United academy to further his chances as a first-team player in Sunderland’s squad. The defender had a taste of senior football from loans with Accrington Stanley and Cambridge United. Alese also featured twice for West Ham under David Moyes. He has been injured for quite some time and missed most of the second half of the 2024/25 campaign.

Joe Anderson

Sunderland beat the transfer deadline to sign Joe Anderson from Everton in January 2023. It marked the defender’s step up to senior football after only playing for the Toffees’ academy sides. He was a regular at the Under-18 and Under-21 levels for the Blues after leaving Liverpool.

Timothee Pembele

Initially signed in 2023 from PSG, Timothee Pembele has struggled to establish himself at Sunderland. He spent the 2024/25 campaign on loan back in France with Le Havre before returning to the North East. He’s unlikely to play much of a role this season.

Sunderland AFC midfielders

Granit Xhaka

Sunderland shocked the footballing world when they bagged former Arsenal man Granit Xhaka this summer. The Swiss midfielder joined from Bayer Leverkusen for a fee thought to be around £15m and that’s proven to be a real bargain.

He’s now the Sunderland captain and has led by example, being integral to the Black Cats’ impressive start to the season.

Dan Neil

Lee Johnson ushered Dan Neil in from Sunderland’s academy to make his first-team debut in March 2021. The midfielder appeared against Swindon Town in League One at 19 years and three months old. Neil grew up supporting the Black Cats before joining their academy fold and went on to captain the team to play-offs glory last season.

But, in this new look Sunderland team, he has dropped down the pecking order and lost the captaincy to Granit Xhaka.

Chris Rigg

Tony Mowbray awarded Chris Rigg his debut for the Sunderland first-team squad in January 2023. He played Shrewsbury Town in the FA Cup third round as a Black Cats product and has since gone on to become a first-team player. Rigg joined the Sunderland academy as a schoolboy from the South Tyneside town of Hebburn.

Enzo Le Fee

Sunderland completed one of the most high-profile signings in the club’s history in January 2025 with the addition of Enzo Le Fee on loan from Roma with an option to buy. The Frenchman started slowly but soon showed everyone on Wearside that he’s a quality player. That deal became permanent in the summer after Sunderland’s promotion.

Habib Diarra

21-year-old Habib Diarra joined Sunderland in the summer of 2025 for a massive £27m, and he comes with a great deal of hype. Having established himself as one of the most exciting young French players at Strasbourg, he’s now looking to further his career in the Premier League.

Noah Sadiki

Another of the more successful signings for Sunderland this summer is Noah Sadiki. He may be young, but the 20-year-old has settled into English football admirably and made himself a firm fixture in Regis Le Bris’ starting XI. Sadiki developed through the ranks at Anderlecht and Union SG in Belgium and now has a very bright future.

Jay Matete

The 24-year-old has been with Sunderland since 2022 but has never really broken into the first-team fold. He was on loan at Bolton last season and while he has remained with the Black Cats this season, he is not likely to feature.

Harrison Jones

One of the brightest players to emerge from the Sunderland academy since… well, since Chris Rigg, so not that long ago, actually. Harrison Jones has dazzled over the last year or so for the youth teams at Sunderland and has now made his way into the peripheries of Le Bris’ first-team squad. We’ll have to be patient with Jones, but watch this space.

Abdoullah Ba

Like Jay Matete and Timothee Pembele, Abdoullah Ba was out on loan last season but has stayed with Sunderland for the 2025/26 campaign. It’s a confusing one, though, as there’s almost no chance of him getting first-team minutes in the Premier League.

Sunderland AFC forwards

Wilson Isidor

Wilson Isidor signed for Sunderland on loan from Zenit in August 2024 and the club activated their option to buy in January 2025 after an impressive start to the season. Isidor emerged as one of the top strikers in the Championship, and he’s proven he can do it in the Premier League, too.

Ahmed Abdullahi

Sunderland completed the deadline day signing of Ahmed Abdullahi in August 2024 as he made the move from Gent. The striker is an experienced international and has played multiple times for Nigeria, but he’s yet to play for Sunderland.

Ian Poveda

Sunderland captured the signing of Ian Poveda in July after he was released from Leeds United. The winger spent the latter of the 2023/24 campaign on loan to Sheffield Wednesday where he managed to guide them to safety. Since joining Sunderland, injuries have blighted Poveda and he’s barely made any impact.

Eliezer Mayenda

FC Sochaux-Montbeliard sold their academy graduate Eliezer Mayenda to Sunderland in July 2023. The Spanish youth international had played for the Montbeliard natives since 2019. He also enjoyed 15 senior appearances in the French second tier, which also returned one goal. At Sunderland, Mayenda grew into his role in 2024/25 and ended up scoring ten goals.

Romaine Mundle

Sunderland signed Romaine Mundle from Standard Liege for an undisclosed fee in February 2024. It marked his return to England only six months after the winger moved to the Belgian Pro League from Tottenham Hotspur’s academy. He never played a senior game at Spurs. Injury issues have held Mundle back time and time again at Sunderland, but when he’s fit, he’s a very exciting player indeed.

Simon Adingra

Sunderland had tried to sign Simon Adingra in January amid the negotiations for Tommy Watson to go to Brighton. It never happened at that time, but they got their man early on in the summer. The winger made 73 appearances for Brighton, scoring 12 goals, and is an exciting, relatively experienced addition to the Sunderland squad.

Chemsdine Talbi

Chemsdine Talbi made quite the name for himself early on in his Sunderland career when he came off the bench to score a late winner against Chelsea in a famous 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge. The young Moroccan winger arrived from Club Brugge in the summer and looks like a top talent.

Bertrand Traore

Yet another summer signing, Bertrand Traore arrived at Sunderland from Ajax and is a highly-experienced player Regis Le Bris clearly knows he can trust. Despite some fitness concerns, Traore has played regularly in 2025/26 so far.

Brian Brobbey

Following Bertrand Traore from Ajax, young striker Brian Brobbey arrived at the Stadium of Light with a lot of hype, and he did seem to struggle with that at first. But, he’s steadily played himself into form and into Le Bris’ plans, and his dramatic equaliser against Arsenal in November endeared him to the Sunderland faithful, too.