Sunderland have had a nervy few days after being so quiet in the first month of the transfer window.
The Black Cats had welcomed Simon Moore and Alan Browne to Wearside so far this summer, while Nathan Bishop has gone out on loan.
Sunderland are expecting heavy interest in a number of key players and had so far managed to avoid too much talk.
However, things have begun to heat up this week, with reports claiming a number of clubs across Europe are chasing the likes of Jobe Bellingham, Trai Hume, Dan Ballard and Pierre Ekwah.
Galatasaray and Udinese have reportedly launched bids for Hume and Ekwah respectively, while Lazio have reignited their interest in Jobe after trying to sign him in January and Ballard is a major target for RC Lens.
The likes of Dan Neil and Jack Clarke have also attracted interest from the Premier League, but are yet to receive any bids for their services.
Sunderland’s ‘blitz of interest’ proves two things
After an underwhelming second half of the 2023/24 campaign, journalist Michael Graham has now named the two things that this ‘blitz in interest’ really ‘proves’.
He wrote on X: “Think this blitz in interest in #SAFC players this summer from high quality clubs all over Europe proves two things:
1) Speakman and the recruitment team have done A LOT of good things at Sunderland.
BUT…
2) Sunderland’s underachievement last season was frankly enormous.”
What does this say about Sunderland’s ‘frankly enormous’ underachievement?
Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, Kristjaan Speakman, Mike Dodds and Michael Beale were the main punching bags when things took a dramatic turn last season.
However, that didn’t prevent criticism for the squad too, who put in a number of disappointing performances to leave them in 16th place in the Championship.
While they shouldn’t be exempt from scrutiny, the flurry of interest in their biggest assets shows just how much better they should have done as a team last term.
A majority of their starting line-up have been linked with a move to the Premier League or across Europe this year, showing how exciting the team actually is.
However, the teams that are looking to sign these individuals probably also have the more experienced players and the proven goal-scorers to balance things out and allow them to develop properly.
Sunderland didn’t have that last season and that was so obviously a huge problem on Wearside.
The Black Cats have already snapped up 29-year-old Browne though and are reportedly targeting 30-year-old Alexandre Mendy to fill the No.9 void too, so it appears they have learned from their mistakes and are prepared to make a real good go at promotion next season.