Sunderland are almost five weeks away from taking on Cardiff City in their first match of the Championship season.
The Black Cats’ previous campaign was certainly one to forget, as they finished in 16th place with a very young squad.
Sunderland’s transfer policy saw the likes of Jobe Bellingham, Luis Hemir and Nectarios Triantis arrive on Wearside last summer, with the former the only one really managing to prove himself in the second tier.
The Championship club had managed to reach the play-offs in their first season, but a series of mistakes from the board left them in a rapid decline.
Now, Sunderland look to be back on their feet after appointing Regis Le Bris, while Kristjaan Speakman has been tasked with bringing in quality and experience to the team.
Sunderland will be eager to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Ipswich and Luton Town in recent years – rising from the third division to win promotion to the Premier League.
Sunderland should aspire to be like play-off contenders
However, it is one club that narrowly missed out on the play-offs that journalist Michael Graham claims they ‘should be aspiring to’.
He wrote on X: “Hull will be very interesting next season. Used as an example of the kind of ambition #SAFC should be aspiring to, but Morton, Delap, Carvalho, Zaroury immediately gone from squad after loans and best two contracted players possibly having to be sold too.”
Hull City had finished in the bottom half of the Championship in consecutive seasons after winning promotion in 2021.
However, they went onto sign a number of young, exciting players last summer and were tipped for promotion.
As well as the names Graham mentioned, the Tigers also snapped up the likes of Ryan Giles, Noah Ohio and Scott Twine, while their oldest player was 37-year-old Billy Sharp.
Hull City know how to balance youth and experience
Hull did underperform when they narrowly missed out on the play-offs, but they are definitely an example of how investing in youth can actually work.
The Yorkshire outfit snapped up 15 players aged 24 or below, but most of their additions already had experience in the Premier League or the Championship.
A lot of their top players were loan signings, and while they have lost them all to their parent clubs this summer, it shows just how important it is for Sunderland to snap up more Premier League loanees.
Amad Diallo was a huge success from Manchester United, but the Black Cats never fought to replace him.