With Sunderland formally confirmed as a Premier League team on 4 June, football writers Ben Bloom and Adrian Clarke look at the club's history, key players and what we can expect from Regis Le Bris' side in 2025/26.
Club analysis: Sunderland
Origins
Sunderland were one of the most dominant clubs in the early days of the Football League, winning three titles in four years during the 1890s and earning the tag "Team of all Talents".
They continued to challenge the very best over the next few decades, finishing in the top three on multiple occasions, and it was not until 1958 – 68 years after entering the Football League – that they suffered their first relegation.
That period of decline came after the club was embroiled in a financial scandal over wages.
They would spend six seasons in the second tier, sparking a period of flip-flopping between the First and Second Divisions.
Their last major trophy came in 1973, when they beat Leeds United in the FA Cup final while playing in the Second Division. Since then, only two other clubs have matched their achievement of winning the FA Cup while playing outside of the top tier.
Modern history
When Peter Reid was brought in as manager in March 1995, Sunderland were battling to avoid relegation to the third tier.
Reid kept them up and gained promotion to the Premier League the following season. Their first foray into the competition lasted just one season, although Reid – now benefiting from the recently built Stadium of Light – would guide them to successive seventh-placed finishes in the Premier League around the turn of the century.
The club became semi-permanent fixtures, spending only three campaigns outside of the top flight from 1999 to 2017, although seasons would routinely be marked by a battle to avoid relegation.
When they failed to avoid the drop in 2016/17, they immediately suffered the ignominy of back-to-back relegations and spent four seasons in League One, notching their lowest-ever league finish of eighth in 2019/20.
Things have returned to an upward trajectory, and last season’s promotion heralds a return to the Premier League after eight years away.
2024/25 promotion
A season that exceeded all expectations in fact passed with surprisingly little concern… until the playoffs.
Having started the campaign with nine wins from their opening 12 games, Regis Le Bris’ youthful side then failed to win any of their next six contests to drop from first to fourth in the Championship table. And that was that.
By February, hopes of gaining automatic promotion were fading, and by the start of April there was effectively nothing to play for: unable to challenge the top three but never in threat of slipping down the table. Indeed, they remained firmly sat in fourth despite losing their last five games.
The playoffs could scarcely have been more dramatic. After Dan Ballard had scored in the dying seconds of extra-time to edge past Coventry City in the semi-final second leg, they repeated the trick in the final.
This time it was Tommy Watson who produced a winner five minutes into stoppage time to sink Sheffield United, who had finished one spot above them in the Championship table.
Le Bris confounded convention by earning promotion with a vastly inexperienced team – Sunderland’s starting XI for the playoff final did not contain a player with a single Premier League appearance, while captain Luke O’Nien was the only player over the age of 25.
Fact file
Premier League seasons: 16
Highest Premier League finish: Seventh (1999/2000, 2000/01)
Honours: First Division (1891/92, 1892/93, 1894/95, 1901/02, 1912/13, 1935/36), FA Cup (1936/37, 1972/73), Second Division/Championship (1975/76, 1995/96, 1998/99, 2004/05, 2006/07), Third Division/League One (1987/88)
Most Premier League appearances: John O’Shea (189)
Most Premier League goals: Kevin Phillips (61)
Three key players
Eliezer Mayenda
One young player who looks ready to make a splash at Premier League level is 20-year-old Mayenda.
The Frenchman is a versatile forward who can lead the line, play as a No 10 or impact matches as a wide forward on either flank. This flexibility provides Le Bris with very useful tactical options.
Although considered a striker, he only featured in that role for 59.43 per cent of his Championship minutes last season.
His finishing is also nice and varied. Mayenda is a sharp front man, who is comfortable executing clinical efforts with both feet and his head.
There was a good spread among the 10 goals he netted in 2024/25.
Mayenda's types of goals, 24/25
| Type | Total |
| Left foot | 6 |
|---|---|
| Right foot | 3 |
| Headers | 1 |
| Other | 0 |
Still very young, there is scope for Mayenda to develop his game in the months that lie ahead.
Quick, mobile and somebody who can finish well (21.3 per cent conversion rate), there is rightly a lot of excitement building around the impact he could make in 2025/26.
Dan Ballard
Injuries restricted centre-back Ballard to just 15 Championship starts, but as he proved during Sunderland’s three playoff games, the 25-year-old is a hugely influential player.
He was outstanding at the business end of the campaign, repelling a stream of crosses sent into their penalty area.
No one in the Championship averaged more headed clearances per 90 minutes (6.07), and as he showed when nodding in the decisive goal against Coventry in the semi-final, Ballard is also a major threat inside the opposition box.
His impressive duel success rates, in the air and on the floor, are the highest among Le Bris’ squad - and with Sunderland expected to defend deep next season, his resilience is going to be a vital ingredient.
Ballard's defensive stats 24/25
| Success rate | |
| Tackles | 63.6% |
| Duels | 68.9% |
| Aerial duels | 73.0% |
Ballard is not the quickest central defender, but he relishes the physical side of defending.
Top-flight strikers should expect a robust approach from him in 2025/26.
Trai Hume
Attacking right-back Hume is one to watch in 2025/26.
The Northern Ireland international shone brightly under Le Bris last season, flying forward on a regular basis to influence Sunderland inside the final third, scoring three goals and producing six assists.
In open play, no other player in the Sunderland squad could match the 55 chances he created, so his crossing quality adds plenty of value to the team.
Hume's chances created, 24/25
Key: Red circles = assists, white circles = chances created
The 23-year-old is also a terrific tackler and is good in 1v1s; he won 25 more tackles than anybody else in a Sunderland shirt last season.
His defending will be tested more often in the top flight, but Hume is still likely to play to his strengths by bombing forward too.
Head coach: Regis Le Bris
Sunderland’s astute head coach arrived in English football just under a year ago with very little fanfare, having overseen Lorient’s relegation to Ligue 2 in France.
His impact at the Stadium of Light was both immediate and impressive, revamping their style of play as well as bringing successful results.
The 49-year-old likes to play with a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 formation, but over the course of 2024/25 he showed he is willing to be flexible when it comes to game plans.
Le Bris' Sunderland side can keep possession well and like to build 3v2s in the wide areas, with their full-back pushed on. Yet they are also happy, as seen in the playoffs, to defend deep and hit opponents on the counter, via long passes.
The Frenchman turned the Black Cats into the division’s best counter-attacking side towards the end of the campaign, scoring nine goals from 50 shots at the end of fast breaks.
This tactic is very likely to be repeated in the Premier League.
Click here to find out more about Sunderland's Premier League history.
