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Sunderland's 'yo-yo club' plan revealed after 'really drastic' outlay - expert

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Ben Palmer

Sunderland's 'yo-yo club' plan revealed after 'really drastic' outlay  - expert


Thu 28 August 2025 18:24, UK



Sunderland have spent a surprising amount this summer and they have done so with the aim of mimicking fellow promoted sides Leeds and Burnley.



That is according to football finance expert Dan Plumley, who told Football Insider exclusively that the Black Cats are gambling on their long-term future, but he did not expect them to suffer the same fate they did nearly a decade ago.

Sunderland finished bottom of the Premier League in the 2016/17 season, and then followed that up by finishing bottom of the Championship the next year.

The club had been plagued by years of poor financial decisions, bad transfers, and a glut of managers who were incapable of finding any semblance of success for the North Eastern side.

But eight years on from one of the most damaging seasons in the club’s history, Regis Le Bris led Sunderland back to the Premier League via the playoffs.

Since then, Habib Diarra has been signed for a club-record fee from Strasbourg, Simon Adingra joined from Brighton, and Granit Xhaka made one of the most surprising moves of the summer when he swapped Bayer Leverkusen for the Black Cats.

Credit: Imago

This article contains exclusive comment from Dan Plumley, a football finance expert and senior lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University.

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Plumley told Football Insider back in June that he did not expect Sunderland to spend significant amounts on their return to the Premier League.

But whilst they have caught many by surprise with their transfer business, the finance expert told Football Insider he does not expect a repeat of the disastrous collapse eight years ago if they fail to survive relegation this season.

Instead, Plumley thinks that Sunderland’s business is being done with the intention of becoming a “yo-yo” club, and is part of a long-term plan to keep the club in, or near, the Premier League.

He said: “It’s perhaps a surprising amount that we’ve seen them spend, but they can afford to do that.

It’ll still be really, really tough for them to stay up this season, ultimately.

“But I don’t think they’re in a position of where they were a few years ago, where if they drop, it’s really drastic.

“It’s about almost like trying to now do a Burnley or a Leeds and get your squad in a good position that if you do get relegated, you can bounce back and you can be that yo-yo club for a few years.

“We’ve seen a few clubs look to go down that road, and Sunderland are setting themselves up for having a squad that is on that level in terms of value and cost.”

Despite signing 12 players already this summer, Le Bris’ side are showing no signs of slowing down as Deadline Day approaches.

Sunderland are interested in West Ham’s Nayef Aguerd and are preparing to submit a significant offer for the Morocco international.

Credit: Imago

The 29-year-old spent last season on loan at Real Sociedad, making 36 appearances for the Basque side in all competitions.

Aguerd has started in all three of West Ham’s matches this season, including the 3-0 opening day loss to Sunderland.