Latest news with #KyrilLouisDreyfus
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Sport
- Telegraph
Inside Sunderland's ruthless summer rebuild
As Sunderland basked in the afterglow of their magnificent play-off final win over Sheffield United in May, they had every right to feel an overwhelming sense of satisfaction and pride. This was the culmination of a project that had begun when they were still floundering in League One four years ago. Promotion to the Premier League that season had been an ambition, but nothing more than that. Very few people actually thought it would be possible, especially in the timescale it was achieved. That just made the success taste even sweeter as the champagne (and beer) flowed freely. With the youngest owner in the four top divisions in England in Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, now 28, and a new sporting director Kristjaan Speakman, the club were a figure of fun and the punchline of far too many jokes. As entertaining as the Netflix documentary, Sunderland 'Till I Die, had been, it had been a story of failure and tragedy. It was a club who had been hollowed out in League One. A club who had been given very little love, care or attention internally. Cost-cutting measures had taken their toll. The club had a self-esteem problem. Dreyfus and Speakman changed that. Investment in the training ground, investment in the academy, and, slowly but surely, the construction of a team who won promotion from League One. That achievement, also via the play-offs, with a victory over Wycombe Wanderers at Wembley in 2022, brought relief as much as joy. The embarrassment was over. Two years and three managers later, Sunderland appointed Régis Le Bris in the summer of 2024. A highly-rated French coach who had excelled on a small budget at Lorient, Le Bris was still an unknown. To win promotion in his first full season in English football with a team of astute bargain signings, many from abroad, with a core of local talent from the academy, was a remarkable achievement. But football does not stand still and having finally returned to the Premier League, Sunderland knew the next stage of the project would be even harder. There has been no room for sentiment. The aim, four years earlier, was to get Sunderland back into the Premier League but the squad that had been promoted – with a core of players who had also played in League One – was always going to struggle in the top flight. The business this summer has been ambitious, but it has also been ruthless. Take home-grown goalkeeper Anthony Patterson who has been dislodged as first-choice goalkeeper by Robin Roefs, or fellow academy graduate Dan Neil, who has lost the captain's armband to Granit Xhaka. All over the pitch, stalwarts of the past two years will now be considered squad players. It will bring its own set of challenges but, if anyone was upset about a new arrival dislodging them, Le Bris was unapologetic. 'It is a new season and we start from scratch with a new squad,' he said bluntly. 'At the same time, it is life for every player on the pitch. They have to accept that, to face the challenge of the Premier League, you have to first accept the challenge for your own position. 'If you take it positively, you are in the right mood. So far, it is really easy with every player. They have time to digest the new set-up. The competition is getting harder for all positions. Every player in the squad knows that it is important to have the best team possible to be competitive in the Premier League.' This is the price of progress. Sunderland could have stayed loyal to the same players and rewarded them for promotion, but really struggled this season. The board is already moving on to a new phase in the club's development. 'The first multi-year cycle of the project was to get back into the Premier League,' a senior source told Telegraph Sport. 'The next multi-year cycle project is to build a team and a club that does not just exist in the Premier League, [but] eventually impact on it. We want Sunderland to be an established top-flight club. 'We know progress is not linear, we know how hard it is for a newly-promoted side to stay up the following season. We respect the size of that challenge, but we are not daunted by it. 'We have recruited with this in mind. We are building a team that can compete now, but which also has the room and the potential to grow and improve with us over the next few years.' What has followed has been one of the most ambitious – and expensive – recruitment drives seen from a newly-promoted team. With more than two weeks of the window left, Sunderland have signed 11 new players and have spent just north of £130m to try to build a team who can compete in the top flight. Only Nottingham Forest, at the start of the 2021-22 campaign, have spent more immediately after promotion from the Championship. Sunderland's hierarchy are naturally aware of the challenges ahead. For the past two years, all three promoted teams have been relegated back to the Championship after just one season. It is a fate that could yet await Sunderland too, but nobody can fault their approach this summer to try and ensure that does not happen. On the eve of their first game of the season at home to West Ham, Sunderland have signed an almost entirely new starting XI, with an intriguing blend of youthful potential and proven top-level experience. Three signings that could define Sunderland's season Granit Xhaka £13m from Bayer Leverkusen At one end of the spectrum, you have Xhaka, the former Arsenal captain who has immediately been given the armband at the Stadium of Light. 'His experience and understanding [are why he was made captain],' said Le Bris when asked about the change in leadership. 'It's an easy decision. I could tell after 10 minutes on the pitch that he would be our captain. 'For Dan [Neil], it's an opportunity to grow. He's still young, 23, and has the potential to be a Premier League player. But you have to fill the gap between his previous experience and this one.' A Bundesliga winner with Bayer Leverkusen a year ago, Xhaka brings a wealth of Premier League experience, and Sunderland hope there are at least two more seasons of top-flight football left in his legs. The decision to take the armband off academy graduate Neil was a bold call, but it makes sense when emotion is stripped away. This is a new group of players, some of them with experience of playing at a much higher level and Neil, who has not played in the Premier League or senior international football before, may have struggled to make his voice heard. Xhaka has been a leader at an elite level and Sunderland will be hoping he can have the same impact on the dressing room that other former Arsenal players have had on the club, such as Steve Bould and Stefan Schwarz. Fundamentally, despite a less impressive campaign in the Bundesliga than his first, Xhaka is a quality player. The fact Leverkusen did not want to lose him speaks volumes. Habib Diarra £30m from Strasbourg This is the transfer that has really got the pulses racing on Wearside this summer because Sunderland have signed a player a number of Premier League clubs were interested in signing. A Senegal international, with 11 caps at the age of just 21, the midfielder scored in his country's hugely impressive 3-1 win over England in Nottingham back in June and signed for Sunderland a month later. He was excellent in that game, as he was for Strasbourg in Ligue 1 last season. The French market is well known to Le Bris and new director of football Florent Ghisolfi, and Diarra was the perfect replacement for Jobe Bellingham following his departure for Borussia Dortmund in the summer. Whisper it, he may even be a far better player too. 'He is the poster boy for our recruitment model,' one insider told Telegraph Sport. 'By that, what we mean is, he is young and very talented. He is good enough to play in the Premier League now, which is why so many clubs were interested in him, but he will also improve too. He can grow with us over the next few years and is only going to get better.' Diarra is a bundle of energy in the middle of the pitch and will make an instant impact on the team. He could prove to be one of the best signings of the summer, which is why Sunderland were willing to spend £30m to get him. Marc Guiu On loan from Chelsea If there is one concern about Sunderland's new-look side, for all the anticipated improvements made, it is a potential lack of goals. It has been a perceived weakness of this team for years but did not cause them too much harm as they won promotion with Wilson Isidor leading the line last season. It is the major hurdle to overcome for every newly-promoted team, as even strikers who are prolific in the Championship can struggle to find the back of the net in the Premier League. This is where the signing of Guiu on loan from Chelsea looks significant. As with Diarra, Sunderland faced plenty of competition for the teenager, who started his career at Barcelona, but were trusted the most to handle his development properly. The 19-year-old is very highly rated at Stamford Bridge, but needs to be playing regularly and if he lives up to his potential, Sunderland will reap the rewards. 'The fact Chelsea are willing to trust us with a player they rate so highly shows the reputation we have built,' said a source. 'They know we treat players on loan precisely the same way we treat players who are here permanently. If you look at the likes of Callum Doyle, who came from Manchester City or Amad Diallo, who came from Manchester United, we have shown we can help progress and develop young players who arrive on loan.'
The Independent
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Premier League club in row with council over proposed housing near stadium
Premier League newcomers Sunderland have opposed plans to build houses near their Stadium of Light ground, saying development could have 'catastrophic consequences'. Chairman Kyril Louis-Dreyfus said the club will make formal objections to the city council's plans to allow for homes to be built in what had been a buffer zone around the stadium. Sunderland City Council has proposed that 600 homes, including maisonettes, townhouses and family homes, should be built south of the stadium, as part of a wider redevelopment of the city centre. Sunderland City Council chief executive Patrick Melia has insisted that the stadium was a 'key asset for the city' and the redevelopment plans would enhance fans' experience. Former chairman Sir Bob Murray, who oversaw the move from Roker Park to the 49,000-seat ground in 1997, called the change a 'disgrace'. He said the local authority had previously agreed protections which would prevent development near the stadium, thus allowing the club to increase capacity if needed, but that the city council had 'torn them up'. Sir Bob said having houses up close to the Stadium of Light risked hemming it in, which was the cause of the move from Roker Park. Mr Louis-Dreyfus has now spoken out against the plans as well. He said: 'As the custodian of Sunderland AFC, it is my duty to safeguard the future of our club. 'This includes the Stadium of Light – the beating heart of our city. 'Unfortunately, Sunderland City Council has recently taken steps relating to the Sheepfolds development that could have catastrophic operational consequences on our club and, by extension, our community. 'We are under no illusion that the city needs a more appropriate housing provision and support those endeavours fully. 'However, later this week we will be submitting a formal objection against the proposals relating to the Sheepfolds and I encourage all city stakeholders to come together and join us in protecting the future of our football club and the City of Sunderland. 'Together, we have limitless potential, but it will only be realised through delivering on a shared purpose and vision.' There were fears that having homes close to the stadium could impact its ability to host major concerts as well as block any future expansion plans. The Stadium of Light has hosted England games and was built on the site of the former Monkwearmouth Colliery. In response to the objections, council chief Mr Melia said: 'We are very much invested in the future of the Stadium of Light and recognise it as a key asset for the city. 'It is our view that the proposals set out for the Sheepfolds neighbourhoods will improve operations and fan experience in terms of match days and other events and we remain committed to working with SAFC in relation to their plans for the expansion of the Stadium of Light – we have held many discussions with Mr Louis-Dreyfus and his team to this effect. 'This consultation process provides a real opportunity for the public and stakeholders to share their thoughts with us as the local planning authority and we will consider all views and comments prior to determination of the application.'
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Sunderland warn of ‘catastrophic consequences' if homes built near stadium
Premier League club Sunderland AFC have opposed plans to build houses near their Stadium of Light ground, saying development could have 'catastrophic consequences'. Chairman Kyril Louis-Dreyfus said the club will make formal objections to the city council's plans to allow for homes to be built in what had been a buffer zone around the stadium. His predecessor Sir Bob Murray, who oversaw the move from Roker Park to the 49,000-seat ground in 1997, was furious about the change, calling it a 'disgrace'. He said the local authority had previously agreed protections which would prevent development near the stadium, thus allowing the club to increase capacity if needed, but that the city council had 'torn them up'. Sir Bob said having houses up close to the Stadium of Light risked hemming it in, which was the cause of the move from Roker Park. Mr Louis-Dreyfus has now spoken out against the plans as well. He said: 'As the custodian of Sunderland AFC, it is my duty to safeguard the future of our club. 'This includes the Stadium of Light – the beating heart of our city. 'Unfortunately, Sunderland City Council has recently taken steps relating to the Sheepfolds development that could have catastrophic operational consequences on our club and, by extension, our community. 'We are under no illusion that the city needs a more appropriate housing provision and support those endeavours fully. 'However, later this week we will be submitting a formal objection against the proposals relating to the Sheepfolds and I encourage all city stakeholders to come together and join us in protecting the future of our football club and the City of Sunderland. 'Together, we have limitless potential, but it will only be realised through delivering on a shared purpose and vision.' There were fears that having homes close to the stadium could impact its ability to host major concerts as well as block any future expansion plans. The Stadium of Light has hosted England games and was built on the site of the former Monkwearmouth Colliery. Sunderland City Council has been approached for comment.
The Independent
7 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Sunderland warn of ‘catastrophic consequences' if homes built near stadium
Premier League club Sunderland AFC have opposed plans to build houses near their Stadium of Light ground, saying development could have 'catastrophic consequences'. Chairman Kyril Louis-Dreyfus said the club will make formal objections to the city council's plans to allow for homes to be built in what had been a buffer zone around the stadium. His predecessor Sir Bob Murray, who oversaw the move from Roker Park to the 49,000-seat ground in 1997, was furious about the change, calling it a 'disgrace'. He said the local authority had previously agreed protections which would prevent development near the stadium, thus allowing the club to increase capacity if needed, but that the city council had 'torn them up'. Sir Bob said having houses up close to the Stadium of Light risked hemming it in, which was the cause of the move from Roker Park. Mr Louis-Dreyfus has now spoken out against the plans as well. He said: 'As the custodian of Sunderland AFC, it is my duty to safeguard the future of our club. 'This includes the Stadium of Light – the beating heart of our city. 'Unfortunately, Sunderland City Council has recently taken steps relating to the Sheepfolds development that could have catastrophic operational consequences on our club and, by extension, our community. 'We are under no illusion that the city needs a more appropriate housing provision and support those endeavours fully. 'However, later this week we will be submitting a formal objection against the proposals relating to the Sheepfolds and I encourage all city stakeholders to come together and join us in protecting the future of our football club and the City of Sunderland. 'Together, we have limitless potential, but it will only be realised through delivering on a shared purpose and vision.' There were fears that having homes close to the stadium could impact its ability to host major concerts as well as block any future expansion plans. The Stadium of Light has hosted England games and was built on the site of the former Monkwearmouth Colliery.
New York Times
7 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Sunderland are back and buoyant with bold signings, intense demand for seats and 100,000 shirts sold
On the corridor wall outside David Bruce's office in Black Cat House, there is a framed piece of paper that has fundamentally changed Sunderland's world. It is their Premier League share certificate, awarded to the club's owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus at the AGM dinner in early June, displayed for all to see. Sunderland's, if you were wondering, was the 128th certificate issued. Advertisement 'You need to look at that,' an enthusiastic Bruce, Sunderland's chief business officer and lifelong supporter, tells The Athletic. 'It shows what we're all part of. My job is to help keep it on that wall.' Not since 2017, when meekly surrendering to relegation from the Premier League under David Moyes, have Sunderland held a ticket to the party that begins again with the visit of West Ham United this weekend. 'I've never experienced a buzz like this,' adds Bruce. 'It's palpable.' Tickets for Saturday's opening game all went within a day of going on sale. Season cards, too, are long gone. Kit sales have never been higher and the club shop, two floors below that share certificate, has a snaking queue of supporters wishing to add Premier League badges to the sleeves of new shirts. Eight years were spent awaiting this moment. There was the ignominy of falling into League One and then the long, arduous road back that climaxed with promotion via the Championship play-off final in May. Those dramatic victories over Coventry City and Sheffield United are already the stuff of Wearside legend. There is the very real danger of the Premier League's formidable strength quickly putting an end to Sunderland's rise in the coming months but this is a very different club to the one that parted with English football's elite. The ambition now is to be sustainable and strategic after a string of wasteful, aimless years began a ruinous slide captured on the Netflix documentary Sunderland Til I Die. Even with this summer's spending — £121m ($163m) and counting — it is stressed there will be no deviation from the plans that have brought them this far. 'Kyril has a very clear vision,' says Bruce. 'It's been, 'How do we build a football club that's sustainable?'. Doing the right things on and off the pitch, building a club that people can really buy into. Advertisement 'A lot has been written about what's been done on the pitch, young talent and creating a platform for them, but a big part of what Kyril has pushed on the business side is to understand how we build a club that reconnects with the people.' It has been no small task. 'The feelings the fans had towards the club and the players that played here (in 2016-17) would suggest there was a real separation,' he adds. 'For this part of the world to have that is really quite upsetting. What you've got now is something that fans recognise as being theirs.' West Ham's visit on Saturday promises to be a spectacle but it will not beat the delirium felt when the Stadium of Light last hosted a competitive match. Dan Ballard's extra-time header to sink Coventry in the Championship play-off semi-final second leg was the cue for feral celebrations and the platform for more of the same as Sheffield United were then beaten at Wembley. That stroked finish from Tommy Watson, now a Brighton & Hove Albion player, was as big as any in Sunderland's modern history; cathartic and the sudden catalyst for what could be transformative change. Returning to the Premier League was always Louis-Dreyfus' stated aim when taking a controlling stake in Sunderland from Stewart Donald in February 2021. The son of Robert Louis-Dreyfus, the late former owner of Marseille, made it clear at the start of 2021-22 that a five-year plan could guide Sunderland from the backwaters of League One and up to the Premier League. It took just four. There were missteps along the way, like defeat by Lincoln City in the League One play-offs and the disastrous appointment of Michael Beale, but Louis-Dreyfus, still only 27, has turned Sunderland into a club feeling good about itself once more. 'Kyril is a very progressive young guy,' says Bruce, who was convinced to step down from his position as chief marketing officer at Major League Soccer to return to his home city last year. 'He sees the world differently to many owners, who probably grew up consuming sports on radio and in newspapers. Kyril has grown up with the mobile phone and social media. 'He's very thoughtful, he's very thorough. There's a lot of noise around this club with a lot of scale but he's good at hearing the feeling and staying resolute towards good plans. Advertisement 'In football it's very easy to get drawn into the emotions and move away from plans because things happen in real time to move you off course. You have to listen to some of that but you also have to stay the course with plans you believe in. For such a young person to have that steadiness is a real quality.' Sunderland's methods in coming this far have barely altered in the past four years, even when irritating a string of head coaches. New arrivals have typically been under 23 with the potential to develop into assets. Jobe Bellingham went from being a £1.5m signing from Birmingham City to a £32m player sold to Borussia Dortmund this summer. The year before it was Jack Clarke, sold to Ipswich Town for £15m and the year before that, Ross Stewart, who Southampton paid £9m to sign. Reinvestment has regularly been smart, such as moves for Ballard, Dennis Cirkin, Romaine Mundle and Eliezer Mayenda, which have complemented the emergence of academy graduates that include Anthony Patterson, Chris Rigg, Dan Neil and Watson. Wages have been controlled along the way. Figures from the 2023-24 season, the last available club accounts, showed salary costs to be 81 per cent of turnover, way below the Championship average. Sustainability has always been the buzzword and it stretches to the business outlook of a club that was the ninth-best supported in England last season, with an average home crowd of just under 40,000. 'For us to be successful, a modern football club at the highest level, it's the ability to take advantage of the scale and reach you have,' says Bruce. 'You have to build your revenue streams. If you sit here and you don't grow revenue streams, then your football club stagnates. It does not grow and others go past you very quickly. You can't become the club your fans want you to be, and from the business side we're very cognisant of that.' Sunderland, inevitably, will enjoy record revenues in this coming season. There is a guarantee to earn at least £110m from the Premier League pot (almost three times the club's turnover in 2023-24), as well as matchday and commercial income climbing to new highs. Kit sales, in particular, have seen enormous growth. A partnership with Hummel, the Danish manufacturer that formerly supplied the club's kits between 1988 and 1994, led to output trebling last season. Advertisement 'We've moved from about 33,000, 34,000 shirts two seasons ago (when with Nike) to circa 100,000 shirts in our first season with Hummel,' says Bruce. 'That puts you top 10 in the country. What we're seeing is unprecedented here. There were 500 people here when we launched our home shirt last month, before the store even opened.' There has also been increased demand for tickets. North of 30,000 season cards were sold before the Wembley victory and the limits were reached within 48 hours of being placed on sale in June. With corporate hospitality offerings taking season-ticket holders to 41,000 and Michelin star chef Tommy Banks now overseeing high-end food on site, it is the first time since the capacity of the Stadium of Light was increased in 2000 that supply cannot meet demand. The summer weeks have only served to heighten the anticipation. Former West Ham defender Arthur Masuaku became Sunderland's 10th signing over the weekend, with the capture of Switzerland international Granit Xhaka underlining ambitions to buck a trend that has seen the last six promoted clubs all suffer relegation inside a year. Twice the club transfer record was broken, first to turn Enzo Le Fee's loan from Roma into a £19m deal and then when signing Habib Diarra from Strasbourg for £30m. Sunderland's net spend, offset by the exits of Bellingham and Watson, currently stands in the region of £85m, with an expectation for further signings to arrive before the transfer deadline. 'There's headroom based on how the club has been run in the last few years,' explains Bruce. 'We've been sensible with how we've spent based on the revenue afforded to us as a football club and we'll always have that in mind. We can't spend beyond our means and we haven't since Kyril took over. We make X, we spend Y. It's as simple as that, so if we can build revenues, that gives us greater opportunity to spend on the football side.' Sunderland will be disadvantaged when only allowed to lose £61m over their next three-year assessment period but the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules, says Bruce, are not a concern. Advertisement 'Our approach in the window has been well measured,' he says. 'We spent a lot of time as an executive team on what our revenues are going to look like and where we've come from in the last couple of years. 'What can we spend? What's the anchor point on wages and what's the money we can spend in the market? We're doing it with a view to being a sustainable football club but with every chance of staying in the league. We feel confident. Like what happened in the last parts of last season, where people came together, the feeling around the club can give us a very good chance.' Sunderland have hope again. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
