Florent Ghisolfi and Tom Burwell set out clear Sunderland stance on summer player sales

Florent Ghisolfi says Sunderland are not planning to sell any key players this summer but insists that the club shouldn't fear a departure on the right terms.

Sunderland shocked neutrals on their return to the Premier League last season, finishing seventh after a major squad overhaul and with one of the youngest teams in the division. Elite clubs have begun closely tracking some of the stars of the side as result, with Robin Roefs and Noah Sadiki two linked with a potential exit.

The club's director of football says he does not need to sell this summer but has consistently said it's vital to demonstrate to potential recruits that Sunderland is a place where they can develop and then be allowed to go on and play at the very highest level. Bumper sales will also clearly improve the club's long-term position within the Premier League financial rules, and so can't be ruled out entirely this summer.

However, Ghisolfi says his previous work as a director of football demonstrates that it isn't something to fear.

“Personally, I am never afraid to sell a player," Ghisolfi said.

"Sometimes, we need to refresh the team and I am sure and confident that we can replace them. It is a different situation than in my past because we are competing in the Premier League [where revenues are greater], and so along with that experience is important. Last summer, people could say we brought in players with a lack of Premier League experience, and that is true, but it was difficult to buy players with that level of experience. This summer, we should be attentive to trying to keep this level of Premier League experience we have now, keeping this team together. We want to keep every starter. We want to keep the team together, but if we have to sell someone then you know how the football industry works, it will be okay. It will be okay for us, we will replace him.

“Sometimes, you just have to back yourself to be able to replace well," Ghisolfi said.

"At Lens, for example, I sold Loic Bade. We took him as a free agent, then we sold him after one year of playing with us for €20m. We are in a world of fear, everyone was saying ‘Wow, it is a disaster’. But we went out and bought Kevin Danso to replace him for €5m and now he is at Tottenham and was as a £25m player. It didn’t take long before they were saying, ‘Oh, he is better than Bade’. Of course, you cannot always do this. But we are confident to be able to do that kind of thing here."

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Tom Burwell’s clear message on potential player sales at Sunderland this summer

Sunderland's interim CEO Tom Burwell said the club had no financial need to sell this summer, and so Ghisolfi could make any decision accordingly.

"We're a club built on really strong foundations," Burwell said.

"We had an excellent year financially, which means that we don't have to make short-term decisions. That's a great place for us to go into the market from because it means that Flo can make the decisions which are the very best for this football club without any pressure [of having to raise funds]."

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