Sunderland fans have historically been viewed as a downtrodden, pessimistic set of supporters, with the Black Cats usually struggling at the very top of the English game, instead of succeeding.
Indeed, even when Premier League football was regularly on the menu during the 2010s, the Wearside outfit would never blow anyone’s socks off, with just one promising top-half finish coming at the end of the 2010/11 season due to Asamoah Gyan’s heroics in front of goal.
From that point on, it was regular scraps and fights against the drop, with a seven-season exodus from the Premier League then following after relegation was finally confirmed in 2017.
Eight years on, however, the mood is a buoyant one currently at the Stadium of Light when it comes to top-flight life, with Regis Le Bris already steering Sunderland to the dizzy heights of fifth spot from just six clashes.
Tasting defeat just the once has resulted in a positive new dawn being spoken about on Wearside, with Sunderland wanting to show they belong at the very pinnacle of the English game with statement signings galore this summer.
Granit Xhaka is the main figure that continues to stand out from the Black Cats’ luxurious spending this summer, as the ex-Arsenal battler continues to look every bit worth the £17.3m it cost to bring him in from Bayer Leverkusen.
How Xhaka compares to other top-flight midfielders
Sunderland picking up Xhaka way back in July was, arguably, one of the first significant pieces of the jigsaw acquired that showed to the rest of the top-flight that Le Bris and Co. weren’t there to simply make up the numbers.
Instead, they were willing to flex their muscles in the competitive market to go all out to win Premier League-ready warriors, with the Swiss international noted as being “valued by so many” when previously on the books of Arsenal in the unforgiving league by analyst Ben Mattinson.
His fiery Gunners stint might well have seen him tally up a worrying four red cards in league action, but with 17 goals and 24 assists also next to his name at the Emirates in the top-flight, it almost went without saying that he was going to add some much-needed quality to proceedings upon his arrival at the Stadium of Light, with equal measures of flair and bite the two main components to his well-rounded and assured game.
It has played out like that so far, too, with the 33-year-old collecting three assists as a vital cog in Le Bris’ machine from the middle of the park, while also averaging a high 6.8 duels won across his near faultless six league encounters.
Games played
6
Goals scored
0
Assists
3
Touches
422
Successful passes
270
Pass accuracy
83.3%
Duels won
41
Aerial duels won
20
Recoveries
28
To further wax lyrical about the Swiss international, who Sky Sports’ Keith Downie said the team is “built around,” his excellent numbers so far this season put him alongside some esteemed competition.
Indeed, his pass accuracy coming in at 83.3% per Premier League contest to date sees him actually trump Sandro Tonali for Sunderland’s arch rivals Newcastle United, who has just 42.5 accurate passes per match to show for his season so far.
Moreover, with eight big chances also created from his six outings, he further trumps Ryan Gravenberch’s tally in this department by two, despite recent shouts suggesting that the Dutchman is “the best player in the country” by journalist Daniel Storey for his electric start to the season with title-chasing Liverpool.
That just brings into view even more clearly how impressive Xhaka has been so far to be reaching the same unbelievable heights as the Dutchman, for a side believed to perhaps be in a relegation battle before the campaign officially got underway.
Yet, it’s not the biggest shock in the world to see the new Sunderland captain return to the Premier League and shine, considering he showed that he still had what it takes to be an elite-level performer with Leverkusen.
Therefore, another of Sunderland’s various signings could be more suited to the crown of being the best purchase made this summer, with another shrewd capture perhaps a more worthy recipient.
Sunderland's signing of the summer
There would have been some worries in the air this summer on Wearside that the rapid pace of the signings could lead to a disjointed look on the pitch.
It’s been far from that, thankfully, particularly in defence, as Le Bris has his new-look defence already playing like a well-oiled unit.
While Nordi Mukiele and Omar Alderete are undoubtedly also in the running to steal Xhaka’s thunder, Robin Roefs is a worthy frontrunner, too, with his early form for the Black Cats being hailed as “absolutely remarkable” by Sky Sports’ Dougie Critchley.
After all, while Xhaka didn’t cost an eye-watering amount to pick up at the £17.3m region, landing Roefs for only £11.5m already looks to be the steal of the summer, with pundit Chris Sutton also praising the capture of the former NEC Nijmegen goalkeeper as a “brilliant” bit of business.
1. Robin Roefs
4
+2.6
2. Dean Henderson
3
+2.3
3. Guglielmo Vicario
4
+2.2
4. James Trafford
4
+1.9
5. Nick Pope
5
+0.9
While Xhaka is in some notable conversations regarding the cream of the midfield crop in the division, Roefs is arguably head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to the goalkeeper department, notably named among the nominees for September’s Premier League Player of the Month.
Indeed, the Dutchman boasts the best goals prevented numbers so far this season with +2.6 next to his name.
Only pipped by Guglielmo Vicario in terms of save percentage, too, it’s clear, even at this early stage, that the 22-year-old has been instrumental to Sunderland taking the division by storm, with a mammoth six saves managed against Nottingham Forest last time out, securing a hard-fought 1-0 win.
Come the close of the long, hard season, it will be fascinating to see how many victories were clinched just off the back of Roefs, being a rock-solid pair of gloves for Le Bris and Co. to rely on.
Of course, Xhaka’s expertise in the gruelling division will also come in handy, but to survive in the Premier League, and ultimately thrive, you need a dependable ‘keeper that can bail you out regularly, with Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Southampton finding that out the hard way last campaign when shipping a sorry 248 goals as they were all relegated.
In Roefs, Sunderland have hit instant gold in between the sticks, with the ex-Eredivisie stopper a firm fan’s favourite already, with that tag only strengthening if he can keep his insane performance levels up.