Sunderland face the ultimate test of their bold transfer strategy ...Middle East

WEMBLEY — As they begin their long, jubilant return north, Sunderland fans will savour every moment of their Wembley triumph. Fretting about how well equipped their play-off heroes are for the brutal world of Premier League football can wait.

It was the perfect parting gift from Tommy Watson, the 19-year-old winger from County Durham who agreed to join Brighton last month while Sunderland were in the thick of a promotion push. Some supporters were unhappy with the teenager for agreeing to a move before the summer. They have probably forgiven him now.

Signing with the Seagulls is a sensible play for any youngster, but maybe in the celebratory days that will follow Sunderland’s long-awaited return to the top-flight, Watson will feel it was a tad hasty. He would have played Premier League football next season anyway, just in red and white stripes rather than blue and white ones.

Sunderland's Play-off final hero Tom Watson speaks about his promotion-clinching goal pic.twitter.com/RznUi4gYyK

— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) May 24, 2025

It was a pivotal day for Sunderland and not just for the £220m TV money jackpot dangled in front of them. A defeat would surely have led to more members of Regis Le Bris’s squad following Watson out the door. Losing finalists are primed to be ripped apart, especially when they are packed full of exciting young talent like Sunderland are.

Now, why would they go? Even accounting for Watson’s departure, there is a strong core of homegrown talent in situ.

Goalkeeper Anthony Patterson was magnificent at Wembley. Dan Neil skippered the side after Luke O’Nien was forced off. Chris Rigg is the 17-year-old prodigy with over 70 first-team appearances. All three came through Sunderland’s academy.

Then there is Jobe Bellingham, another teen signed from Birmingham City. The Bellingham clan are known for their considered decision-making when it comes to mapping out careers, but there is no need to move Jude’s younger brother on now, not after he is accumulated 85 Championship starts before the age of 20.

Sunderland’s achievement is extraordinary because their recruitment model has been extraordinary. Their arrivals during Kyril Louis-Dreyfus’s ownership have almost exclusively been in the 17-22 age bracket, a model overseen by sporting director Kristjaan Speakman.

Promising players have been plucked from obscurity – Premier League U21 sides, smaller leagues around Europe – and been turned into Championship-level stars.

Enzo Le Fee is the obvious outlier. Promotion has triggered an automatic €23m (£19.3m) purchase clause for the 25-year-old from Roma. The Frenchman hasn’t quite had the impact anticipated when he arrived on Wearside, but he has at least had six months to bed into English football and has the talent to make the jump.

Not every deal has worked out, but there have been enough success stories for Sunderland to make big strides in recent years. A League One club as recently as May 2022, they finished in the Championship play-off places twice in the last three seasons, in no small part due to fine recruitment and rebounding after losing Jack Clarke and Ross Stewart for big fees.

Proof of Sunderland’s transfer acumen was evident throughout their starting line-up at Wembley.

Eliezer Mayenda, the scorer of the all-important equaliser, joined from FC Sochaux two years ago, after they had just been relegated to France’s third tier. Right back Trai Hume was a £200,000 buy from Linfield in the Northern Ireland Premier League.

Centre-back Dan Ballard and left-back Dennis Cirkin both progressed through north London academies at Arsenal and Tottenham respectively, but left for Sunderland after playing no competitive games for either. Romain Mundle is also ex-Spurs, albeit signed via a short stint with Standard Liege.

Le Fee is the only star name and that deal was unique owing to his close relationship with Le Bris, his manager at FC Lorient.

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It is a young group. The average age of the starting XI against Sheffield United was just 22.9 years, a figure boosted by 30-year-old captain O’Nien, who suffered a game-ending injury within 90 seconds.

Of the 30 players used by Regis Le Bris this season, five were teenagers at the start of the campaign, and only three were 30-plus. Twenty two of them were aged 24 or under.

“I think Sunderland are still building their structure and we have to make another important step to prepare the squad for the Premier League,” the Frenchman acknowledged after the game.

What comes next will be fascinating. Will Sunderland continue on this talent trajectory on a bigger budget? Or will they deviate slightly and try and supplement a youthful squad with more experience? Jordan Henderson watched his boyhood club at Wembley. Could he be persuaded to come home after a couple of years abroad?

Le Bris insisted he has had no time to think about the ramifications of going up. His sole focus was on beating Sheffield United. Everything else was parked, but his comments about a team being stronger than any one individual seemed pertinent ahead of the summer window.

He will want and need additions to give his team any hope of survival, but only if they buy into the ethos that has got this squad so far.

“I think in football in general we sometimes forget that it’s a collective sport and effort and we tend to focus on one talent who makes the difference,” he said.

“But that’s not the main point. The main point is the way that we work together and this squad was really impressive this season in their connection.”

Keeping that bond intact while sprinkling a little stardust on top will be their next challenge.

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