Sunderland ended a run of three matches without a win by turning around a 2-0 deficit to beat Bournemouth 3-2 at the Stadium of Light on Saturday in the Premier League.
Summer signing Bertrand Traore grabbed his first goal for the club to make it 2-2, before substitute Brian Brobbey scored for the second time in three matches off the bench to secure all three points.
The work done by Kristjaan Speakman and his team in the summer transfer window can only be described as miraculous at this moment in time, given that the Black Cats are fighting for European football, rather than battling against relegation.
Ranking Sunderland's top five summer signings
Sunderland, including permanent deals, free agents, and loans, made a whopping 15 additions to the team that earned promotion from the Championship in the 2024/25 campaign.
It is hard to look past Robin Roefs and Granit Xhaka as being the two best signings made by the club, as they are both undroppable stars within Regis Le Bris’ side.
The Black Cats number one has prevented 3.28 xG more than expected in 13 Premier League games, per Sofascore, whilst Xhaka has showcased his vast experience, starting all 13 matches and providing one goal and four assists from the middle of the park.
1
Robin Roefs
2
Granit Xhaka
3
Nordi Mukiele
4
Noah Sadiki
5
Omar Alderete
As you can see in the table above, we have put experienced signings Nordi Mukiele and Omar Alderete, as they have played a role in Sunderland only conceding 13 goals in 13 games so far.
Noah Sadiki also has to be up there because of his brilliant work rate in the middle of the park, averaging 2.7 tackles and interceptions per game across 13 starts, per Sofascore, after his £15m summer move from USG.
Of course, not every single signing goes to plan, and Sunderland are no exception. For example, Simon Adingra is currently on track to become the new Jeremain Lens on Wearside.
Why Simon Adingra may be the new Jeremain Lens
The Black Cats splashed £8m to sign Lens from Dynamo Kiev in 2015 to bolster their wide options, but he only went on to play 24 matches for the club, per Transfermarkt, with four goals and three assists to show for his efforts.
Lens found game time hard to come by after Dick Advocaat was replaced by Sam Allardyce. The winger went as far as to call it “annoying” and stated “I did not come to the Premier League to sit on the bench”.
He then went out on loan to Fenerbahce and Bestikas before signing for the latter permanently in 2018, ultimately leaving the Stadium of Light as a flop.
Unfortunately, Adingra may already be on the same path as the Dutchman after the club paid £21m to sign him from Brighton in the summer, making him the second-most expensive signing in the team’s history, behind the £27m deal for Habib Diarra.
Sporting director Speakman noted in the Ivorian star’s unveiling that he was “excited” to see the 23-year-old in action for the Black Cats, after the youngster had scored 12 goals in 73 games for Brighton, per Transfermarkt.
However, Adingra has not hit the ground running at the Stadium of Light, playing in eight of the 13 Premier League games this season, and is yet to register a goal or an assist, per Sofascore.
The right-footed flanker has struggled badly for game time in the top-flight his season, with one minute played in the last two matches, which will not be what the Black Cats were expecting when they decided to splash £21m on his services.
Bournemouth
0
Fulham
1
Arsenal
26
Everton
0
Wolves
0
Man Utd
37
Nottingham Forest
12
Aston Villa
0
Crystal Palace
69
Brentford
25
Burnley
63
West Ham
76
Adingra has been a bit-part player for Le Bris, with the likes of Traore and Chemsdine Talbi ahead of him in the pecking order, and it remains to be seen whether or not he can turn things around to become a key player for Sunderland.
If it gets to January, or next summer, and he is still struggling for minutes and rarely getting off the bench, the former Brighton man may end up in the position that Lens found himself in, where a loan will be needed for him to go out and play regular football again.
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ByKelan Sarson