James Copley: The remarkable £3.9m Sunderland statistic that endorses Kristjaan Speakman’s methods

Sunderland have done a tremendous job when it comes to squad building since the arrival of sporting director Kristjaan Speakman from Birmingham City.

Indeed, Speakman is often the name uttered by supporters, come what may, during trading periods. However, it is always worth noting that there is a rather good team behind goings-on at the Academy of Light these days.

Above Speakman, owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus sets the tone on how he wants his football club to be run, with head of recruitment Stuart Harvey also having a big influence on proceedings. The Black Cats’ scouting and data departments have also been bolstered in recent seasons - and there is also academy manager Robin Nicholls, who has overseen the rise of several homegrown players to first-team prominence. Head coach Régis Le Bris also has a strong say.

You have to say, there have been hiccups along the way at Sunderland, there is no doubt about it. Leon Dajaku was not a striker, and it took far too long to replace Ross Stewart properly. Tony Mowbray should have perhaps been backed further in January during that play-off season. The less said about Michael Beale, the better.

For all the success stories such as Patrick Roberts, Jack Clarke, Chris Rigg, Dan Neil, Anthony Patterson, Trai Hume and Jobe Bellingham. There have been some duds along the way. It hasn’t worked out for Joe Anderson, for instance. Nor has it, ultimately for Jewison Bennette and Abdoullah Ba. I could go on.

By and large, though, you have to give credit where it is due. As Sunderland’s recruitment model enters its next phase, the club has committed to a potential record fee to sign loanee Enzo Le Fèe if they are promoted to the Premier League. It is a welcome step up in proceedings, but it also shines a light on past successes.

Take Le Bris’ starting XI against Burnley, for instance. As pointed out by Sunderland fan Chris Weatherspoon on social media last weekend, it cost only around £3.9million in transfer fees. Yes, that is slightly skewed with three loanees in the team, which Sunderland have spent money on with extra payments obligated in some cases.

But if you remove Le Fèe, Wilson Isidor and Chris Mepham from the equation, the value for money is even more remarkable. Patterson came through the ranks and cost nothing in terms of transfer fees and has played 142 times. It is a similar story with Rigg and Neil, who have made 50 and 176 appearances in all competitions, respectively.

Full-backs Cirkin and Hume cost £1.2million combined (though further payments may be required if they are ever sold for big money). Cirkin reached his 100th appearance against Burnley, and Hume is now sitting pretty on 108. Jobe was poached from Birmingham City for around £1.5million and has played 76 times. Roberts is now on 119 and was purchased for approximately £1million to secure him from Manchester City.

The only player not brought to the club under the leadership of Speakman’s recruitment team is Luke O’Nien at around £200k in 2018, but it is fair to credit the current set-up at Sunderland for getting the best out of the centre-back.

Taking O’Nien’s appearances into account, those permanent signings and homegrown players have racked up a total of 1,055 appearances in all competitions for the princely sum of just £3.9million, which is a remarkable feat and a good sign that the Black Cats are on the right track under the current regime in a footballing sense. I guess the question is, can they keep repeating the same trick successfully as the pressure to achieve ramps up?