Sunderland‘s rise from League One to the Europa League has gone past even the wildest desires of a fanbase whose expectations had not been tempered however toppled by a crushing decline.
The return to the Premier League one yr in the past was a momentous event. The Black Cats completed seventh on their return, and the remainder is historical past, with their sweeping summer time spending paying off handsomely.
This yr, the market was utilised extra shrewdly, with the likes of Thomas Meunier and Dayann Methalie and Kevin Danso (on mortgage) and Malick Fofana strengthening a coherent squad.
Not many signings had been made, however regardless, the information that Enzo Le Price has prolonged his time with Sunderland till 2031 can’t be understated.
Why Le Price extension is sort of a new signing
The success in tying down Le Price to a brand new contract at Sunderland can’t be understated. The French playmaker is shortly establishing himself as one of many Premier League’s best midfielders.
A natural-born playmaker, Le Price is a lot extra. An all-action, combative participant, he has been excellent inside Le Bris’ system, making a optimistic impression from the off when he arrived from Roma in July 2025 after a profitable half-season stint with the membership within the Championship, serving to them towards promotion.
Final season, he was immense, creating 13 huge possibilities within the Premier League. Sunderland solely created 64 in complete, that means Le Price was accountable for 20% of his workforce’s creativity.
The Wearsiders had been additionally among the many extra chance-shy groups within the division, as an alternative reliant on their industriousness and organisation. The Stadium of Mild performed no small half too.
However there was another person who arguably provided much more than Le Price, and provided that he is into the penultimate yr of his personal deal, technical director Florent Ghisolfi may wish to open talks sooner reasonably than later.
Sunderland should prolong Le Bris favorite’s contract
Sunderland have made a gradual begin to the 2026/27 Premier League season. The worldwide curtain has fallen down after successive defeats to Arsenal and Manchester Metropolis, title favourites, however Le Bris’ facet will really feel aggrieved to have been defeated on each events.
There’s a lot to love about this new iteration of the Le Bris period, with Granit Xhaka nonetheless charging the workforce from the center of the park. The one-time Arsenal captain, who arrived from Bayer Leverkusen for £17m one yr in the past, has been a revelation.
An all-encompassing menace of a midfielder, Xhaka is, after all, the actual deal, however time will not be on his facet, and a few could really feel that his £100k-per-week contract needs to be allowed to run down till its expiry in 2028.
Nonetheless, he seems alive within the engine room. 5 performances into the marketing campaign, Xhaka has been immense for Sunderland, and it looks like shedding the 33-year-old on the finish of subsequent season may very well be a catastrophe, such is his significance and affect each as a pacesetter and a legitimately elite-level participant.
|
Xhaka with Sunderland within the Premier League |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Stats (* per 90) |
25/26 |
26/27 |
|
Matches (begins) |
34 (32) |
5 (5) |
|
Objectives + assists |
1 + 6 |
0 + 0 |
|
Touches* |
67.5 |
75.6 |
|
Correct passes* |
44.5 (84%) |
51.2 (87%) |
|
Massive possibilities created |
9 |
5 |
|
Key passes* |
1.0 |
2.6 |
|
Possession misplaced* |
12.6 |
14.0 |
|
Succ. dribbles* |
0.3 |
0.8 |
|
Ball recoveries* |
4.7 |
6.6 |
|
Tackles + interceptions* |
4.9 |
3.0 |
|
Duels gained* |
4.6 (60%) |
5.6 (60%) |
Remarkably, Xhaka is definitely enjoying with much more gusto and affect than he did throughout the 2025/26 season.
He appears fitter, hungrier, extra incisive. To not say that the 33-year-old wasn’t an absolute phenomenon final yr, however his return to the Premier League has been sensational, and he’s displaying little signal of slowing down.
There’s a cause that Chelsea and Xabi Alonso wished him on the coronary heart of the brand new system at Stamford Bridge, however Sunderland stood agency and resisted the advances this summer time.
Xhaka has extra mileage within the tank. It’d really feel like 2028 can be the appropriate time for him to go away, into his mid-thirties, however the reality is that this generational chief may provide one other yr or two of service for the Wearsiders, who’ve properly and really hit the jackpot with this one.
