Forget the Past, Sunderland Belong in the Premier League
Régis Le Bris is leading a quiet revolution at the Stadium of Light
When Sunderland fell out of the Premier League, then dropped even further into League One, I thought it was over for them. I watched Sunderland ‘Til I Die during lockdown like so many others. It didn’t feel like a comeback story. It felt like a eulogy. The club looked adrift, with little direction and even less hope.
Now here we are, watching them sit in the Premier League top four after nine games. This isn’t about romance or nostalgia. This is about football done right. Sunderland are not just back, they are relevant. Régis Le Bris, their manager, has orchestrated one of the most compelling rises in recent English football history.
Le Bris Has Changed Everything
When Régis Le Bris arrived from Lorient, the mood was uncertain. He had just been relegated. His defence had leaked goals. Few had heard of him in England. It looked like a sideways move from a club with a history of those.
What he has built instead is a disciplined, clear-sighted side with a strong identity. Sunderland no longer play like a club trying to cling on. They play like a side with intent, composure and tactical structure.
Look at the Chelsea match. They went behind early at Stamford Bridge and never lost their shape or nerve. They followed the game plan, stayed in the contest, and won it with a goal that was fully deserved. That kind of performance speaks volumes. It is not just about desire, it is about having a manager who can outthink the opposition under pressure.
Le Bris isn’t loud. He isn’t chasing headlines. But his clarity of thought is showing on the pitch. This side knows what it is doing. When things go wrong, it adjusts, not panics. There is intelligence in everything they do.
Recruitment Built for the Premier League
Sunderland’s transfer window was aggressive, but it was also smart. Over £160 million spent on 15 players sounds like chaos. It was the opposite. The business was clean, focused and effective.
Granit Xhaka was the headline act, and rightly so. Bringing in a player with title-winning pedigree from Arsenal and Bayer Leverkusen looked odd on paper. Why would Xhaka join a newly promoted side? Because Sunderland sold him a real project. And because they built a team around him that lets him do what he does best.
They haven’t asked him to run himself into the ground. They have paired him with energy. Noah Sadiki never stops. Reinildo Mandava brings grit and balance. Chris Rigg, just a teenager, adds invention. Xhaka controls games without having to cover every blade of grass. His brain does the work, the legs around him supply the rest.
At the back, Robin Roefs has been excellent in goal. Calm, quick and confident beyond his years, he has brought stability. Dan Ballard, Nordi Mukiele and Omar Alderete have been just as strong, showing that experience abroad doesn’t mean players cannot adapt quickly.
This was not a spending spree. It was a plan. A lot of these players were unknown to English audiences, but they were chosen because they fit the system. And they’ve hit the ground running.
Confidence Replaces Fear
This Sunderland side walks onto Premier League pitches with belief. You can see it in how they play, not just how they celebrate. It is easy to look at the fixture list and point to early wins against struggling sides. But that is the point. They won the games they had to. Then they went to Chelsea and showed it was not a fluke.
Every team has to earn the right to belong in this league. Sunderland have done that quickly. The Stadium of Light has become a fortress again. They are unbeaten at home. The crowd believes, the players believe, and you can see it in the energy around the club.
They still want 17th. No one is getting carried away. But performances like these raise the ceiling. They show what is possible. They suggest that survival might not be the limit.
And when this team loses, it learns. That matters more than anything. They don’t get stuck. They move on. That is not a coincidence. That is culture. Le Bris has built that from day one.
Xhaka the Signing That Changed the Equation
Sunderland have largely operated with a buy-low, sell-high model. Until this summer. Signing Xhaka was a break from that. There is no resale value there. He cost £13 million, potentially rising to £15 million. That money is not coming back. But the value he brings on the pitch makes it worth every penny.
It was a strategic gamble, and it is already paying off. Xhaka is not just a player. He is a leader, a coach on the pitch, and a link between the young core and the Premier League level they need to reach. He brings control, authority and the kind of experience you cannot teach.
He was given the armband straight away, and it shows. When things get messy, he slows the game down. When heads drop, he rallies them. He even helped recruit Nordi Mukiele by calling him directly. Those conversations matter. Players listen to Xhaka.
This was Sunderland saying, we’re serious. Not just about staying up, but about staying competitive.
They’ve done it with a mix of talent, leadership and flexibility. They’ve built a side that can hurt teams, not just hang on against them. And they’ve done it without throwing their identity away.
This is not a plucky underdog story. Sunderland are not a novelty. They are a properly constructed Premier League team with staying power. They might not finish in the top half. They might still go through a rough spell. But they have the tools to handle it.
The resurrection of this club has been one of the most quietly impressive stories in English football in recent years. It is not built on luck or sentiment. It is built on smart management, good coaching, and players who believe in something.
Sunderland have already changed their narrative. And if they keep this up, they will change their future too.