Regis Le Bris is doing amazing things as Sunderland manager this season, but one key statistics highlights just how astounding it is that the Black Cats are competing at the top of the league.
Since he took over in the summer, Regis Le Bris has invigorated this young Sunderland squad and has them playing brilliant football, and most importantly, picking up big results.
With less than 20 games to go now, the Black Cats are just four points off second-placed Sheffield United, having beaten the Blades and drawn with Burnley already in 2025.
Sunderland may feel they deserved more against Burnley, but when you look a little deeper, it’s incredible that Le Bris is even getting anything from these kinds of games.
Burnley’s starting XI cost 13 times as much as Sunderland’s XI
It has long been known that clubs like Burnley, Leeds, and Sheffield United, all recently relegated from the Premier League, have a major advantage on their Championship rivals due to the parachute payments they receive and the kinds of players they have in their squads.
But, after the game between Burnley and Sunderland on Friday night, it’s worth noting just how big that gulf in resources actually is, with the Clarets’ lineup massively outweighing Sunderland’s when it comes to transfer fees paid.
Burnley’s starting XI from the last game comes up at a reported value of £51.8m, including big-money signings like James Trafford (£15m) and Maxime Esteve (£13m). Meanwhile, Sunderland’s team cost just £3.9m, which equates to around a 13th of the price of Scott Parker’s lineup.
| Burnley player | Transfer fee | Sunderland player | Transfer fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Trafford | £15m | Anthony Patterson | Academy |
| Connor Roberts | £2.5m | Trai Hume | £0.2m |
| Conrad Egan-Riley | Loan | Chris Mepham | Loan |
| Maxime Esteve | £13m | Luke O’Nien | £0.2m |
| Bashir Humphreys | Loan | Dennis Cirkin | £1m |
| Josh Cullen | £3m | Dan Neil | Academy |
| Josh Laurent | £0.5m | Jobe Bellingham | £1.5m |
| Jaiden Anthony | Loan | Chris Rigg | Academy |
| Josh Brownhill | £9m | Enzo Le Fee | Loan |
| Lyle Foster | £8.8m | Patrick Roberts | £1m |
| Zian Flemming | Loan | Wilson Isidor | Loan |
| TOTAL | £51.8m | TOTAL | £3.9m |
Incredibly, Jobe Bellingham is the most expensive signing in the Sunderland XI from Friday night, at just £1.5m. Granted, he is now the most valuable player in the Championship, but he certainly didn’t come with that price tag at the time.
There is also the fact that the on-loan Enzo Le Fee could cost Sunderland £19m in the summer if they go up, and Wilson Isidor’s permanent move would be worth around £5m, too. But, even after those transfers, the Black Cats would still be way behind Burnley in terms of spending.
Of course, it helps that three Sunderland academy graduates are in the lineup, but that is more a testament to the great work done by the club at youth level than anything else.
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Sunderland are the underdogs that refuse to go away in this promotion race
All season, we’ve been waiting for Sunderland to drop off, and it simply isn’t happening. That early-season form looked like a new manager bounce, but this is clearly a case of a young squad thriving under a manager who is getting the best out of them.
Sunderland are playing the right way, their mentality seems to be getting stronger all the time, and they are grinding out results against the teams around them, too.
With Sunderland on track for promotion, those brilliant foundations built by the club’s owners off the pitch, and now on it by Le Bris, will stand them in good stead whatever happens.
Go up, and we can expect to see young players like Jobe and Chris Rigg and develop even further as they test themselves at a higher level. But, if this journey has a disappointing ending come May, you would be hard-pressed to find a team more ready for promotion next season than Sunderland.