An out-of-control transfer market could be both good and bad news for Sunderland

07/02/2024 01:00 AM

The fact that the market continues to operate at Mach 3 and with an ever-growing willingness to spend big could be both a blessing and a curse.

One of the most interesting things about occupying a place in the Championship is that we have a ringside seat and a great viewpoint to witness the spectacle of rampant spending and gaming of the system that life in the Premier League entails.

With PSR (Profit and Sustainability Rules) biting hard, many top flight clubs are currently partaking in what can only be described as a costly game of pass the parcel, with players switching clubs for inflated fees as teams desperately seek headroom in order to abide by the regulations and avoid the possibility of points deductions.

'If you help me to keep my balance sheet in good order, I'll do the same for you', seems to be the motto at the moment, and it's quite a stark warning for clubs with ambitions of competing at the top of the English game.

Additionally, the trend of Championship players moving up a league for colossal fees looks set to continue this summer, with Leeds United starlet Archie Gray seemingly on the cusp of a move to the top flight, with Tottenham apparently in pole position to secure his signature.

The rumoured fee for a player who cemented himself as a firm favourite at Elland Road last season? Somewhere in the region of £30 million. Staggering in one sense, but par for the course in another.

Gray is an exciting talent and would be a cracking signing for a top flight club, but it'll be a combination of Leeds holding firm and Spurs' desperation to keep up with the big boys that'll lead to any potential deal.

For Sunderland, and more specifically our future prosperity and chances of success, the fact that the market continues to operate at Mach 3, with teams fostering an ever-growing willingness to spend big, could be both a blessing and a curse.

It's obvious that Premier League clubs - established and newly-promoted - see the Championship as a market where the stars of tomorrow can be found.

Crystal Palace did it with Adam Wharton and perhaps Spurs will do it with Gray, but the common denominator regarding those deals is that they weren't completed for peanuts, and it's a path that Sunderland have to follow.

At the present moment we're fortunate to have several players within our squad who, at current market rates, would easily command fees of £20+ million.

Even after the struggles of last season and the ups and downs in form that many of our lads went through, this remains a very talented and capable squad and with many of the players' contracts having ample time left to run, we've covered the bases to as thorough a degree as possible.

The news that Chris Rigg is set to sign his first professional deal provides us with an even greater layer of protection, and if this can be combined with a willingness from the club hierarchy to stand firm and dismiss any ridiculously lowball offers for the likes of Jack Clarke, Dan Neil, Dan Ballard and Jobe (and there's no suggestion they won't, on the evidence of what's happened thus far), we'll be squeezing top flight teams for every penny should they come knocking.

For all of the criticism of the current regime and scepticism of their methods we've yet to see them cave in and allow a key player to leave for what you'd call a derisory fee.

Ross Stewart's departure might've been divisive, but the fact that we were able to drive such a hard bargain with Southampton for a then-injured player was no mean feat, and it suggests that if and when another equally important player bids farewell to Wearside, it won't be for a handful of pennies and a Twix bar.

Naturally, if one of our key assets departs this summer, there'll be the inevitable questions about just how effectively the money will be spent in order to replace them, but the evidence of that will only come to light if and when such a scenario comes to pass.

For all of its glamour, worldwide exposure and lucrative TV deals, the Premier League, at its heart, is the world's most expensive rollercoaster ride, and teams are being forced to spend increasingly unsustainable sums of money in order to retain their seat.

Of course, the long-term aim for Sunderland has to be to secure ourselves a berth on that rollercoaster, but in the short term, we can certainly take advantage of those clubs who may be concerned about their own ability to remain competitive in the top flight and are willing to loosen the purse strings in order to do so.

It's a cold and often-brutal business but that's football in 2024, and we need to ensure that we're ruthlessly efficient in rebuffing offers that aren't acceptable, being light on our feet, and securing ourselves as large a slice of the pie as possible if key assets do leave the Stadium of Light.

The market is currently tilted heavily in favour of selling clubs, who comprise at least 70% of the football pyramid, and we simply can't allow ourselves to be short changed if and when the heavyweights come calling.