Sunderland transfer Q&A: Xhaka and Mayenda latest plus club's strategy this summer explained

What had been a relatively quiet transfer window at Sunderland exploded last weekend as news broke that Chelsea were set to make a move for the club's talismanic midfielder, Granit Xhaka.

With a number of players set to return to the Academy of Light over the course of the next week, Sunderland's preparation for the new campaign will step up again. So what's the latest and what can fans expect? Here, Phil takes a look at some of the key questions...

What's the latest with Chelsea's pursuit of Granit Xhaka?

Sunderland have knocked back an initial bid of £8 million, which they deemed to be significantly below their valuation of a player they do not want to lose. That's unlikely to be the end of the saga, as Chelsea clearly believe the midfielder is keen on the switch and a reunion with Xabi Alonso. Sunderland are braced for another bid but whether Chelsea are willing to go anywhere near a level of fee that will change the picture remains to be seen.

Most insiders believe Xhaka will eventually make the switch - it's not really Sunderland's style to stand in the way of a player who wants to leave and they'll know how much that could damage the spirit and mood behind the scenes. Having said that, they're also very clearly not in the habit of selling key assets for less than what they're worth. So this genuinely could go either way at this stage, even if the feeling is that Chelsea will eventually move to a place that makes Sunderland's life difficult.

It has been a quiet start to the transfer window from an incoming perspective - is this a concern?

If you look at last summer, I think it's quite instructive that it was only around now that Sunderland started to make signings. We're a couple of weeks behind this year, due to the World Cup and the Premier League season starting later as a result. While you do see the occasional deal going through, a lot of players will want to complete their international commitments and take a break before weighing up club matters, slowing the whole transfer chain down.

We also now that as Florent Ghisolfi has already said, Sunderland see this window as a 'marathon' where last summer was a 'sprint'. Then, Sunderland moved quickly on targets they felt could step up to the level as they had pretty much a whole new team to build. Now, they are looking to recruit in a handful of key positions and are juggling multiple targets in each one. Take their interest in former Celta Vigo defender Óscar Mingueza, for example. Primarily a right back but capable of playing right across the back four, he has a very similar profile to Lutsharel Geertruida who Sunderland are still looking to sign this summer. This window is about quality rather than quantity and so we should expect it to be slower than last summer, which was a bit of a one-off in so many ways.

I've no doubt that Sunderland will do business and knowing the level of ambition behind the scenes, I think they'll be signings that excite us.

What other outgoings are in the pipeline at this stage?

Sunderland are working hard to trim their wage bill and find moves for the players who realistically aren't going to be part of Régis Le Bris's plans for next season. That's going to take a lot of work and won't be straightforward, as many of the players in question earned wage increases as a result of promotion and so aren't easy for interested clubs to retain. Ghisolfi has hired experienced recruitment executive Matteo Serra to help with the process and there's likely to be a number of departures in the weeks ahead.

In terms of the core of last season's squad, there aren't expected to be many. Sunderland want stability heading into the new season and Le Bris has previously said that he could absolutely see the starting XI on opening day featuring the vast majority of those who finished the last campaign so well. Xhaka's future is clearly uncertain, and there is a growing expectation that Eliezer Mayenda will depart and probably on a permanent deal. Though he has not made a decision on his future and Sunderland are still very much in the stages of negotiation with interested clubs (with Stade Rennais widely regarded as an early frontrunner), Mayenda wants regular football and feels he's unlikely to get that on Wearside given Brian Brobbey's form and prominence. Sunderland rate Mayenda highly but understand his point of view and there's an understanding that if the fee is right, it could be a deal that benefits them hugely from an SCR perspective. That would strengthen their position with regards to interest in any of their players currently first choice in their position even stronger.

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What level of investment can we expect from Sunderland this summer?

Sunderland are ambitious and aware that even after last summer's business, their overall squad costs are well behind most of their direct rivals. They want to keep being smart and outperforming their budget, but they know that in reality to achieve their long-term goals they have to keep investing. In short, expect some exciting signings. It's nevertheless important to remember that though they feel well placed to meet both UEFA and the Premier League's financial rules next season, both have to be considered as Sunderland grow their budget. They'll keep investing but it has to be prudent, and likely complimented by the occasional sale. Last January, in which they invested in Nilson Angulo and Jocelin Ta Bi but on a smaller scale than last summer, feels like a reasonable template in terms of what to expect moving forward.

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