00:00As time goes by, this transfer spend, if they did get relegated, would cause them problems.
00:07That's only if they can't bring any money in in future windows as a championship club.
00:12Now, I think there's good reason to think that that absolutely won't be the case.
00:16And they'll actually find it very, very easy to bring in significant transfer revenue if the worst happens and they are relegated.
00:22And actually, I think that's the cornerstone of Sunderland's plan this summer and the signings that they've brought in.
00:26So, yes, we've seen a little bit more flexibility from Sunderland in the transfer market this summer in that they have spent money on more experienced players who don't have a massive resale value.
00:35Granit Xhaka is the obvious example of that, but also a little bit in players like Nori Mukhele, who are a little bit older and who Sunderland have spent a significant summer.
00:43Having said that, these are top level European players, very experienced, played at a high level for a very long time.
00:49I think it's obvious to assume that there would be interest in these players if Sunderland were relegated and they could recuse some funds.
00:56But more relevant is the fact that the bulk of the money has been spent on talented European players from Europe who had massive interest last summer and would have massive interest again if Sunderland were to get relegated.
01:07Players like Shemsdine Taubi, Noah Siddiqui, Habib Diara.
01:11These are players who clubs right across Europe wanted to sign because of their top level experience and also the massive room for development.
01:18Now, we don't know if Sunderland are going to stay up, but the early signs are certainly that they're going to be very competitive.
01:24And I strongly believe, and I think a key part of Sunderland's philosophy this summer is, that even if Sunderland were to get relegated, they will have been competitive.
01:31And with a year of Premier League experience under their belt, a lot of these young players are going to be very, very attractive to clubs.
01:37And that they will, for Sunderland, I think will find it quite easy to recue the kind of funds that they need to, to make themselves very comfortably PSR compliant in future seasons.
01:46Something else I think is really important to note on this, and I think it's something that's gone really under the radar, actually, in all the discussions around this topic,
01:55is that Sunderland already have a huge amount of value in their squad, even before we talk about these players.
01:59And that is why some of the contract work they've done this summer has perhaps gone a little under the radar, but it's absolutely pivotal.
02:06We all spoke about that Sheffield United game and that Wembley final as being almost the last chance to keep this talented group together.
02:12And what we meant by that was there were so many talented young players in this squad who were bound to get top-tier interest and offers if Sunderland didn't get promoted.
02:18And there's no reason to think that won't be the case if Sunderland are relegated, which hopefully they won't be.
02:24Sunderland have done really good work in getting their best young players tied down to long-term contracts.
02:30So the three key examples this summer, Eliza Meyende, contracted until 2030.
02:35Trey Hume, contracted to 2030.
02:38Chris Rigg, also under contract until 2030.
02:42Even players who haven't signed renewals yet this summer, but who knows there might be some in the offering,
02:46are going to be under contract for at least two years next summer.
02:48So Trey, Dan Ballard and Romain Mundell, both under contract until 2028.
02:53If Sunderland need to raise revenue to be PSR compliant, I think you can see very easy that they should be able to raise vast sums in the transfer market if they need to.
03:02And I think that's been a key part of what Sunderland have done both this summer and recent years,
03:06is to get themselves in a position where they know they have assets in the squad who can raise funds if needs be.
03:12But that's the very negative impact.
03:15Sunderland have made a really, really good start and they've leveraged their really strong financial position
03:19to build a squad that looks like it's going to be really competitive and has a really good shot staying up.
03:24One point I wanted to just dwell on was, well, what happens if Sunderland do stay up?
03:28Is this spending going to cause them problems in future years?
03:32Well, possibly, but hopefully not massively, because if Sunderland do stay up,
03:37the PSR rules will slowly start to ease for them as an established Premier League club.
03:41So if they're still up this year, next year, their limit will rise to 83 million.
03:47So they'll be in a position where they can then lose 83 million over the three-year period.
03:52Now, that three-year period will then still include last season's accounts,
03:56which, as I've mentioned already and explained, are going to be a really, really positive set of accounts from a PSR perspective.
04:02So next summer, I imagine their PSR perspective, if they're a PSR position,
04:07if they are a Premier League club, will be very strong.
04:09Now, after that year, yes, that positive set of accounts from last year will drop out for the three-year span,
04:16but their limit will then rise again to the full 105 million.
04:19So that will give them a little bit of extra headroom.
04:21Now, for sure, Sunderland, with their current revenues, unless they get into Europe,
04:27cannot afford to spend £150 million every year.
04:30That is absolutely clear. It just can't happen.
04:32But they shouldn't have to.
04:33A key part of what they've done this summer has been building a core of players
04:37who they believe can stay with the club for a period of time.
04:40So I think someone will be quite relaxed about the fact that investment in future years,
04:43if they do steal, can be on a lot smaller number of players,
04:47invest more in, you know, real quality to increase the team,
04:51the level of the team, rather than in quantity.
04:54And the other thing I would say is,
04:56Sunderland have shown that they're really good at selling players at the right time.
04:58And so that will continue to be an option for them as long as they're a Premier League club
05:02and they can continue to supplement those revenues with those player sales.
05:07One last thing I want to talk about as well is just a little bit about sort of my feeling
05:11of having covered the club for a long period of time.
05:15It's been really clear to me asking and talking to people this summer about someone's spending
05:19and some of the nervousness I've felt at times about the level of spending
05:22and one of the potential future implications for that is that,
05:27and you can read some quotes from the Sport Director Christian Speakman
05:29on the ECHO website to this point last week,
05:32where he talked about Sunderland,
05:33everything they do is it's ingrained in them the mess that they inherited
05:38when they took over the club.
05:39And what was the key reason for that mess?
05:41That was the contracts that Sunderland took from the Championship,
05:44into the Championship from the Premier League and then into League One.
05:46So although we obviously don't have details of player contracts,
05:50I think it's fair to assume that there are significant safeguards in place
05:53where if someone are relegated, those wages and those contracts will adjust accordingly.
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