Sunderland have stormed back up to the Premier League in style.
The Black Cats had been absent from the top-flight since the 2016/17 season, with Jermain Defoe still leading the line for the Wearside outfit that campaign.
Now, however, they’re back, with a new batch of Defoe-like heroes instantly announcing themselves to the rest of the promised land in an emphatic 3-0 win on the opening day.
It is, of course, unrealistic to anticipate that Sunderland will wipe the floor with all their competition in the higher tier in this vibrant, free-flowing manner.
But it’s an extremely positive sign so early on that indicates they’re here to shine, rather than merely survive, as more new signings are expected to link up with Regis Le Bris and Co. before the transfer window shuts.
Sunderland submit £27m bid for attacker
The Black Cats have been forking out significant wads of cash all across the action-packed window to date.
At the time of writing, Sunderland have splashed in the region of £141.5m on 12 new assets, with Nordi Mukiele their latest addition from Paris St. Germain for a fee around the £12m mark.
Don’t expect this spending to go hush anytime soon, either, with Jhon Lucumi now reportedly back on the Sunderland radar in the centre-back positions, as an official bid has even been placed.
Away from enhancing their defensive options, another bid has also allegedly been lodged by the ambitious Black Cats for the services of Leicester City attacker Abdu Fatawu, according to journalist Eduardo Burgos.
That bid, worth about £27m, has since been rejected according to Burgos, but Sunderland will hope they can still land the Foxes number seven, who will no doubt be desperate for a Premier League return after Leicester’s relegation.
Securing a deal for the entertaining Ghanaian to join the club could see the top-flight newcomers seal a Simon Adingra repeat, as another gung-ho forward potentially joins Le Bris’ ranks, ready to make survival look like a breeze.
How Fatawu can be an Adingra repeat
While he hasn’t been credited with an assist for Daniel Ballard’s bullet header on all major outlets, Adingra still played a vital role in that goal, sending the vast majority of the Stadium of Light into momentary pandemonium as his deflected cross ended up being inch-perfect for the ex-Arsenal defender to connect with.
Sunderland fans will hope there’s plenty more to come from their fresh £21m recruit, too, having shown flashes of his excellence for former employers Brighton and Hove Albion, before being discarded.
A promising 11 goals and assists came the Ivorian’s way during his up-and-down stay on the South Coast, with his final season under Fabian Hurzeler only seeing him collect two goals and two assists from 29 contests, as he started just 12 league matches all campaign long.
Now, he will hope he has the luxury of extended periods in the side, with Fatawu also hopeful he can spark into life even more on Wearside, after an injury-disrupted period last season with Leicester saw relegation heartbreakingly occur.
Games played
58
Games missed through injury
29
Goals scored
7
Assists
15
Promotions
1
Even with that nasty injury setback derailing him, Fatawu has still managed to show off his class regularly at the King Power Stadium, with a standout seven goals and 15 assists next to his name from 58 clashes in the East Midlands.
Two of those assists even came about for the silky 21-year-old in the Premier League last season, before a serious cruciate ligament injury stopped him in his tracks and left him with just 11 paltry appearances in the top division.
He will hope he’s handed an opportunity to shine in the elite league once more with Le Bris’ men, having once been dubbed “unplayable” on his day by scout Jacek Kulig when tearing up the EFL with the Foxes.
Adingra has also been spoken about in the same glowing manner before, with football analyst Ben Mattinson once heralding the Black Cats number 24 as “explosive”, as the attacking pair prepare to run rings around Premier League defences together to ensure survival is comfortably reached.
