Sunderland have been excellent in their return to the Premier League, and Regis Le Bris’ side have avoided worrying about a relegation battle, and can look forward to another campaign in the big time.
We don’t want to tempt fate, but it would take a dramatic collapse for Sunderland to drop into the bottom three in the final two months of the season, with one of the relegation’s relegation rivals needing to overturn a 12-point deficit from nine games.
While the Black Cats have been one of the biggest success stories this season, there is still work to be done. Le Bris will hope to continue this recruitment process and avoid a second season blight in 2025/26.
To make sure this happens, the Wearsiders build their front line.
How Sunderland build their first line
Up front, Sunderland have been economical and entertaining, if not as electric as they were in the Championship last season.
Sunderland are among the best trained teams in the Premier League, but there is a sense that quality of movement is needed in attack. The absence of Brian Brobbey in attack underlined that, the Dutch striker signed for £25m last summer.
Brobbey, 24, has been described as a “natural born killer” in front of goal by talent scout Jacek Kulig, but has scored just five goals in the Premier League this season.
However, for all their strength, Sunderland’s forwards left a lot to be desired in terms of creating chances and sharpness in the final third.
|
Lowest xG values in the Premier League (25/26) |
||
|---|---|---|
|
The club |
Goals Scored |
Total xG |
|
(16) Nott’m Forest |
28 |
35.06 |
|
(17) Tottenham |
39 |
34.21 |
|
(18) Sunderland |
30 |
30.08 |
|
(19) Wolves |
22 |
27.92 |
|
(20) Burnley |
32 |
27.32 |
Expected Goals (xG) is a metric designed to measure the chance of a shot leading to a goal.
There is still work to be done, especially if Le Bris wants to ensure his club’s success for many years in the Premier League.
With that in mind, it is not surprising that efforts have already been made to strengthen the attack with the new version of Amad Diallo.
Le Bris has struck gold in the new Amad
Sunderland have plenty of exciting forwards in their ranks, but whether they have someone as classy as Amad, who excelled on loan at the Stadium of Light in 2022/23, is another question.
However, Le Bris tried to rectify that during the winter transfer window, signing Ecuadorian winger Nilson Angulo in a £17.5m deal on deadline day, arriving from Anderlecht after a good spell in the Belgian area.
The 22-year-old is flexible and powerful but plays as a left-wing midfielder, praised by journalist Diego Briones for “being very solid off the ball and selfless by dropping back when needed.”
He has yet to break into the Premier League but he has shown great potential, is a hard worker and has the technical ability to be one of the best strikers in this division.
He wins duels and gets caught in the middle, boasting an Antoine Semenyo-esque quality to that, because he’s straight again.
Fast and furious, the Ecuadorian has the potential to be Brobbey’s perfect partner in the ninth. Although his first few weeks in England have drawn attention to his defensive ability and strength against the ball, Belgian football podcaster Scott Coyne has noted that “his pace is probably one of his greatest attributes.”
Angulo is probably not a finished product, but he is still a top talent who has shown that he has the tools to thrive in the English game.
Sunderland are safe, and could inspire a new attacking position with Angulo between the centrepieces. Ahead of the new campaign, Le Bris has everything he needs to take this Sunderland team to the next level.
Sunderland must regret selling a £15m hero who is now better than Angulo
The former Sunderland star would have added quality to Le Bris’ squad
