Former Sunderland star hails recruitment successes as he makes summer transfer claim

Sunderland enjoyed a fantastic 2025/26 Premier League season, finishing seventh, but one former player feels this doesn't need to be the peak of this famous story.

The Black Cats were up against it coming into the campaign just gone. Having won the Championship play-off final, they were naturally behind the eight-ball in terms of recruitment compared with automatic promotion rivals Leeds United and Burnley.

But Sunderland spent well last summer, and subsequently started the season on fire. There was a lull midway through the campaign that suggested a bottom-half finish was likely, but the Black Cats had a brilliant second wind to land a European qualification spot. Attention now turns to the summer, and former Sunderland player Don Goodman has shared his thoughts on what the club must do next.

"I interviewed Regis Le Bris before the end of the season, and he said, look, our ambition is to be a top 10 Premier League club, not just this season, but consistently. And I thought, I remember thinking, do you know what? That's really interesting that a manager would go public on that of a newly promoted team," Goodman, speaking to the Sunderland Echo via Lucky Rebel, explained.

"And I think the only reason that he's gone public is that I would expect Sunderland to go again this summer in terms of a reasonably big spend. And if the recruitment team does half as well again as they did last summer, then I think they're going to be in business in terms of going and having another good season. So, look, I think we can safely say they've surprised everybody, including me, in terms of what you would have thought before a ball was kicked.

And as I say often, it doesn't really matter whether I'm talking about a Champions League team, a Premier League team, a Championship, a League One or a League Two. Your goals and achievements will be defined by the success of your recruitment. I just think the Sunderland recruitment has just been unbelievably successful."

Likening Sunderland's recruitment success to that of Brighton and Bournemouth, Goodman added: "It kind of reminded me a little bit of over recent years how Brighton and Bournemouth and Brentford have brought players to the club that not many people have heard of, that have turned out to be roaring successes, really.

"So, I think if I was a Sunderland fan, I'd be feeling really optimistic; they've had an amazing season, they've done the double over the arch enemy, and it's not beyond the realms of possibility, depending on the next couple of results, that they may even have a chance of a place in Europe next season. So, it's a great period, great time to be a Sunderland fan."

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