Skip to player
Skip to main content
Skip to footer
Search
Connect
Watch fullscreen
Like
Comments
Bookmark
Share
Add to Playlist
Report
How will Sunderland's transfer policy and style of play evolve in the Premier League - #onthewhistle
Sunderland Echo
Follow
27/05/2025
Phil Smith answers as part of his regular Q&A with readers
Category
🥇
Sports
Transcript
Display full video transcript
00:00
He says, how do you think our transfer policy will evolve now in the Premier League?
00:03
We've paid around £20 million for Lefeuille and he's 25,
00:06
so older than any player we'd paid at FIFA or previously under the current plan.
00:11
Well, I think that Lefeuille is a little bit of an exception
00:13
in terms of the quality he was able to bring midway through the season,
00:16
his relationship with Regis Lebris and the fact that he clearly has
00:21
significant resale value, even despite, as you say,
00:25
him being slightly older and that fee being so significant
00:27
because of the level I think he's already reached in European football
00:30
when he was at Lorient.
00:31
So I do think Lefeuille is a bit of an exceptional circumstance.
00:35
I don't think Sunderland's transfer policy will change.
00:37
I think the word you use, evolve, is a good one.
00:41
But I think Sunderland will just see this as another opportunity now,
00:43
a greater opportunity to invest in more young talent
00:46
because they'll have deep pockets,
00:48
they'll be able to offer the carrot of Premier League football.
00:52
But I don't think the strategy is going to change whatsoever.
00:55
I think the strategy will still be to try and identify
00:57
the best young talent around the world
00:58
to invest in them early, to give them opportunities to develop
01:02
and to try and boost that long-term sustainability
01:05
of the football club.
01:08
The interesting question is whether you need
01:10
a little bit more Premier League experience in the squad
01:13
and that's something we'll find out over the next weeks and months
01:15
whether Sunderland feel that way.
01:17
Think back to that brilliant first season in the Championship
01:19
where Sunderland really upset the odds
01:21
and ended up finishing sixth.
01:23
Yes, it was built around a lot of players
01:24
who didn't have much Championship experience,
01:26
a lot of young players.
01:27
But you did also have those core sort of group
01:29
of Alex Pritchard, Corey Evans before his ACL
01:32
in the first half of the season.
01:34
Danny Bart obviously was the fans' player of the year that year.
01:37
So I definitely think there'll be a factor of
01:39
we need to get some Premier League experience
01:41
in this group really just to help the younger players
01:44
understand what it's all about
01:45
and to manage what could potentially be
01:46
a really challenging season.
01:47
But I don't think the strategy will fundamentally change at all.
01:56
I think that it'll still be the Sunderland
01:58
we've become familiar with.
01:59
It might just be that we're potentially looking at bigger fees
02:03
and maybe slightly more established young players if you like.
02:06
But I think fundamentally it'll be the same Sunderland next year.
02:09
Matthew says,
02:10
How do you think RLB will set us up tactically next season?
02:13
I thought this was a really interesting question
02:14
because one of the big things that's been talked about
02:17
over the last few weeks is kind of this idea of
02:20
do you really, really want to go up?
02:22
Because the gap, not from a Sunderland perspective,
02:24
I mean from a neutral perspective,
02:26
we're all desperate for another crack at the Premier League.
02:28
But clearly the gap between the Championship
02:30
and the Premier League has grown vastly
02:31
since Sunderland were asked at that level eight years ago
02:33
and it's a definite concern.
02:35
I think we're all aware that it could be
02:36
a really tough year for Sunderland
02:38
and I think speaking to a lot of people at Wembley Wayne
02:40
and around the sort of weekend,
02:42
everybody was kind of saying,
02:43
look, we understand that we might find it difficult next year
02:47
but if we were to come back down financially
02:49
we'd be in such a strong position now
02:51
and that's why it's such a big game.
02:52
So I think Sunderland fans are quite realistic about it.
02:55
But there's a couple of things that I just want to end on
02:56
that say they give me a little bit of cautious optimism
02:59
for next year that maybe Sunderland can compete
03:02
and can do something potentially a little bit better
03:05
than some of the other teams we've gone up have.
03:07
One is that with this being such a young team
03:09
with so much talent,
03:10
you just don't know how these players are going to adapt.
03:13
They are unknown quantities at Premier League level.
03:16
It might be that some of these players take to it quite quickly.
03:18
It might be that even if it takes them a little bit of a while,
03:21
they're really able to get to grips with their level
03:22
and they find that they are capable of playing at that league.
03:25
Some of the teams that go up,
03:27
maybe you're looking at players who've already played at that level.
03:30
We know a little bit more about them.
03:31
We know that they've struggled to make the jump in the past
03:34
and that's why they sort of ended up back in the Championship.
03:36
We don't really know if that's with Sunderland.
03:39
It might be that a lot of this core of young players
03:40
find that they can actually adapt to the level
03:43
and potentially Sunderland can upset a few people.
03:46
I think the one point, going back to your question, Matthew,
03:48
is the other thing that gives me a little bit of confidence
03:50
with Sunderland is that
03:52
they're not wedded to a possession-based style of play,
03:58
which is quite often what you see with teams
04:00
who go up to the Premier League.
04:01
And that means that they kind of struggle
04:04
when they have to play a different way against teams
04:05
with better individuals and more established at the level.
04:10
I think that Sunderland will try, especially at home,
04:12
they will try and press,
04:13
they will try and get the crowd into the game,
04:16
they will try and catch teams out.
04:18
But I think the fact that they're already quite comfortable
04:20
defending their box, playing on the break,
04:22
as we always say, suffering out of possession,
04:25
I think it's something that gives them a little bit of a chance
04:27
that maybe some of the other teams
04:29
who go up to that level struggle with
04:30
because I think Sunderland are a lot more tactically flexible.
04:33
And so fingers crossed that's something over the course of the season.
04:39
Sunderland can prove a few people wrong
04:40
and make a really, really good fist of it.
04:43
So yeah, thank you so much.
04:45
There's quite a few questions that I haven't got to.
04:47
It might be that I'm able to come back
04:48
and do another one later in the week or next week.
04:50
We'll see how things develop in terms of club news and what have you.
04:54
But I hope you've enjoyed the video.
04:55
I thought it was well worth having a bit of a chat about the game,
04:57
mainly because, as I said, there's a few things about the discussions
05:00
around the game of the Games of Coventry
05:01
that I just feel like maybe haven't been quite right.
05:04
And I thought that in terms of Sunderland's performance
05:06
from kind of pundits and neutrals,
05:09
and I thought it was worth discussing.
05:11
I always think it's worth reflecting on a Wembley win, isn't it?
05:13
And hopefully you've enjoyed some of the sort of transfer chat as well.
05:16
So keep your eye out on something like a website,
05:18
just so much content still coming over the next couple of weeks.
05:22
And yeah, keep your eyes out on this channel as well,
05:24
because we'll have loads of video content over the summer.
05:26
As I said, thanks so much for watching.
Recommended
2:13
|
Up next
Was controversial rotation policy key to Sunderland's play-off triumph - #onthewhistle
Sunderland Echo
27/05/2025
3:44
Is Sunderland's squad strategy catching up with them? #onthewhistle
Sunderland Echo
16/03/2025
4:13
How do Sunderland rebuild some momentum? #onthewhistle
Sunderland Echo
16/03/2025
3:10
What's up with Sunderland's attacking play? #onthewhistle
Sunderland Echo
13/04/2025
3:06
Will Jobe Bellingham leave Sunderland after Wembley win - #onthewhistle
Sunderland Echo
27/05/2025
1:45
Will Romaine Mundle start on Tuesday - #onthewhistle
Sunderland Echo
10/05/2025
10:53
Who is Florent Ghisolfi and why are Sunderland hiring him - #onthewhistle
Sunderland Echo
20/06/2025
2:54
Is it over for Sunderland and 4-4-2? #onthewhistle
Sunderland Echo
12/03/2025
2:04
Sunderland injury update - #onthewhistle
Sunderland Echo
22/04/2025
9:04
Sunderland 0-0 QPR: Phil Smith's verdict
Sunderland Echo
03/11/2024
20:35
Rigg update, subs debate and January - #onthewhistle
Sunderland Echo
27/12/2024
20:30
Phil Smith reviews Swansea City 2-3 Sunderland
Sunderland Echo
15/12/2024
5:35
What's next for Sunderland in the transfer market - #onthewhistle
Sunderland Echo
10/07/2025
4:04
What next for Tommy Watson and Sunderland after West Brom snub - #onthewhistle
Sunderland Echo
07/04/2025
5:37
Who is Noah Sadiki and what will he bring to Sunderland - #onthewhistle
Sunderland Echo
07/07/2025
3:35
The key area Sunderland have to improve - #onthewhistle
Sunderland Echo
22/04/2025
8:58
#onthewhistle after Sunderland snatch draw
Sunderland Echo
05/10/2024
13:27
Sunderland lose at Plymouth - #onthewhistle
Sunderland Echo
16/09/2024
20:33
Penalty drama, Mepham update and why Sunderland fans can be positive - #onthewhistle
Sunderland Echo
18/01/2025
7:17
Phil Smith reviews Sunderland v Hull in latest #onthewhistle episode
Sunderland Echo
20/10/2024
19:47
Ian Poveda's absence explained and what team will Le Bris pick for Leeds - #onthewhistle
Sunderland Echo
13/02/2025
3:56
Glass half full or empty? Assessing Sunderland's form
Sunderland Echo
28/04/2025
2:35
Who plays up front for Sunderland in the play-offs - #onthewhistle
Sunderland Echo
28/04/2025
5:53
How will Florent Ghisolfi's arrival impact Sunderland?
Sunderland Echo
29/06/2025
13:23
Best win yet, Mepham's future and is the top two on? #onthewhistle
Sunderland Echo
24/10/2024