Sunderland AFC news: Finance expert calls for 'transparency' from Kyril Louis-Dreyfus as boss reacts to huge club decision

It was recently revealed that Louis-Dreyfus owned just 41 per cent of the club with former Madrox members Charlie Methven, Stewart Donald and Juan Sartori owning the majority of shares.

Louis-Dreyfus has reiterated that he is the executive shareholder and is responsible for the day-to-day running of the club and has recently met with fan groups to answer questions.

Indeed, Louis-Dreyfus apologised to supporters who felt misled following his stated takeover of Sunderland last season.

Sheffield Hallam University’s Dan Plumley, however, believes there needs to be even more transparency regarding who owns Sunderland.

“I’m a big advocate of more transparency,” he told Football Insider.

“We need more transparency and accountability. Looking at this retrospectively, he has apologised.

“But a little bit of advice and possibly a change in the culture around him at the time would have averted this.

“Some clubs do this very well. You can nip this in the bud before it becomes a problem. If you don’t do this, you can turn fans against you.

“If they feel they are being kept in the dark, you can see why that would happen.”

Sunderland Ladies announce under-23 team

Sunderland Ladies have announced the launch of a new under-23 team ahead of the 2022-23 season.

The Lady Black Cats have seen a host of England internationals and leading figures in the game developed at the club, including the likes of Beth Mead, Steph Houghton and Jill Scott amongst others.

General Manager Alex Clark said: “The implementation of the Under-23s team allows us to fully connect our Sunderland AFC women’s football pathway.

“We are able to ensure that we provide local young players, whether that be from our RTC or elsewhere, with an opportunity to progress and develop in adult football – and stay within the Sunderland setup, immersing themselves in the Sunderland DNA and the Sunderland way of playing.

“This is something that I have been keen to set up since taking up the General Manager role in September, and the club and Sunderland RTC are fully behind this.”