James Copley: Sunderland flex unfamiliar transfer muscles as Florent Ghisolfi refuses to be bullied
Sunderland’s dealings over Granit Xhaka and Dayann Methalie have shown a new transfer-market confidence under Florent Ghisolfi
There is something unfamiliar about watching Sunderland operate in the transfer market under Florent Ghisolfi. For years, supporters have become used to the idea that when somebody richer or bigger comes calling, there is normally only one ending. Sunderland lose the player.
Jordan Henderson, Jordan Pickford, Darren Bent, Jack Clarke, Ross Stewart and Jobe Bellingham are very different examples from different eras, but the pattern is familiar. Sunderland have sold their best players before and will do so again because this squad contains valuable assets.
What feels different now is that Sunderland look prepared to do everything on their terms. They will sell when a deal works for them, spend serious money when the player is right and stop when the circumstances around a transfer give them reason to think again.
Sunderland stood firm over Xhaka
The Granit Xhaka saga with Chelsea was a good example. A big-six club wanted one of Sunderland's most important players, and you could forgive supporters for thinking they knew what came next. Chelsea came calling, but Sunderland stood firm.
They had no desire to lose Xhaka for the money being discussed and refused to shift simply because of the identity of the buying club. If somebody wanted to take a key player away from Régis Le Bris, the deal had to work for Sunderland. We're not particularly used to that. Usually when a big-six club wants somebody, the player eventually goes. This time Sunderland decided the terms, and Xhaka stayed.
Methalie showed the other side
Dayann Methalie offered a very different example of the same principle. Sunderland spent weeks pursuing the Toulouse defender, had several bids rejected and eventually made enough progress for the player to travel to Wearside ahead of a proposed transfer. Then the picture changed. Issues arising from his medical examinations prompted further checks and forced Sunderland to reconsider a deal they had already invested considerable time and effort into reaching.
By the time you read this, that transfer may have taken another turn. That does not alter the point. Sunderland did not simply wave the deal through because negotiations had dragged on for weeks, because the player wanted the move or because they had reached an advanced stage with Toulouse. New information emerged, and Sunderland stopped to assess what it meant. That is exactly what you want from a club spending tens of millions of pounds. There is no prize for completing a transfer simply because you have already spent weeks trying to make it happen.
On Sunderland's terms
Sunderland are not trying to rob every club they deal with. They will pay fair money and have shown they are prepared to spend heavily. But they will not be bullied into selling somebody they want to keep, and they will not let the amount of work already invested in a transfer dictate what happens next.
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There will eventually be another Henderson, Pickford, Clarke or Bellingham sale. That is football, and sensible player trading remains part of Sunderland's project. Equally, there will be targets they desperately want where circumstances change, and the club has to think again. With Xhaka, Sunderland decided the offers were not enough. With Methalie, new information forced them to stop and reassess.
Whatever ultimately happens in either direction, the wider message is becoming increasingly clear. Sunderland want to decide the terms when they buy and when they sell. That is an unfamiliar transfer muscle for Sunderland to flex. Under Ghisolfi, they look increasingly comfortable using it.