Sunderland haven’t always made Premier League survival look like a painless feat to achieve.
Indeed, the Black Cats have actually fallen victim to the terrible fate of relegation down to the Championship four times since the top division’s rebrand in 1992.
Thankfully, plenty of fight and quality to beat the drop this time around has already been on display, with two wins and two draws picked up from their opening five clashes in the unforgiving league, meaning Regis Le Bris’ men are sitting in a pretty seventh spot currently.
That isn’t to say there weren’t several fan favourites from Sunderland’s previous relegation dogfights, though, with Jermain Defoe a recent hero that sticks out, even as the Wearside outfit tumbled out of the big time.
Defoe's hero status at Sunderland
Defoe would arrive at the Black Cats in 2014 with the reputation for being a clinical goal machine in the Premier League, with a mammoth 126 top-flight goals already notched up, before finding himself in the midst of a relegation tussle at the Stadium of Light.
Joining mid-way through the season could well have unnerved others. Defoe, on the other hand, managed to instantly hit the ground running to guide Sunderland to safety, with his unbelievable first-time effort against fierce rivals Newcastle United still remembered to this day as an iconic goal.
In total, 34 top-flight strikes would be put away by Sunderland’s dependable number 18 across 87 games, with a return to the England set-up even coming the veteran’s way, off the back of such a blistering purple patch of form.
Unfortunately, though, even as he routinely put on the captain’s armband, relegation would still swallow the Black Cats whole at the end of his final goal-laden season in the top-flight.
Regardless, the experienced talisman had still left a lasting impact on supporters in Wearside, with his teammate at the time, Adnan Januzaj, hailing him as “unbelievable” to work alongside.
Defoe would even come back to the Black Cats towards the tail-end of his playing days, but away from the glittering marksman’s extensive career, Le Bris will hope he now has his own much-loved leader figure in a similar vein to the Englishman in this passionate Sunderland presence.
Sunderland's new Defoe
Immediately, the first name that might well spring to mind here in being a Defoe-like hero is Wilson Isidor.
After all, much like the much-loved number 18, Isidor has already proven himself to be a hard-to-contain attacker in the Premier League, with an impressive three goals being fired home this season, steering the Black Cats to some invaluable early victories.
However, even though he isn’t leading the line, the actual figure being touted as the next Defoe here is Granit Xhaka, as the Black Cats thank their lucky stars once more that they managed to pick up a Premier League-experienced pro on the cheap.
As part of an ingenious swap deal that saw Jozy Altidore move to Toronto FC while the attacking veteran relocated back to English shores, Defoe would undoubtedly further affirm his status as a Premier League great.
In the here and now, Xhaka swapping Bayer Leverkusen for the Black Cats for just £17.3m is going down much the same way.
Games played
5
Goals scored
0
Assists
2
Touches*
73.2
Accurate passes*
48.8 (83%)
Key passes*
1.4
Ball recoveries*
4.2
Total duels won*
6.8
Before embarking on a shock return to England, Xhaka did already have 225 Premier League appearances under his belt, with 17 goals and 24 assists next to his name for Arsenal in the daunting league, even seeing him be referred to as a “monster” by Gunners-based writer Connor Humm.
The concern would have been whether the Swiss international could roll back the years on his return to the English top-flight.
However, based on the table above, there didn’t need to be any major worries, as Sunderland has seemingly hit the jackpot on a new talisman – much like they jumped for joy with Defoe – in their tenacious number 34.
Already blending his obvious class with bags of determination to ensure Sunderland punch above their weight, it’s even clearer now why picking up Xhaka had been described as “masterstroke” of a purchase, as it had been labelled by Sky Sports’ Don Goodman when he first arrived on the scene.
Many would have viewed Defoe’s entry into the building way back in 2014 in the same glowing manner, with Le Bris and Co. now well positioned to go against their bleak relegation history and beat the drop with Xhaka placed at the centre of their plans.