Sunderland

Former Sunderland striker Marco Gabbiadini, speaking to BBC Radio Newcastle about new signing Jules Ahoka, who has joined from Belgian side Royal Antwerp for a fee of about £8m:

"I hope they have got a lot of inside information. Three or four good appearances - that doesn't mean too much, does it?

"I am sure it is a connection between coaches and people who have worked with him and what his character is that adds to it. But there is a big question mark.

"I sometimes wonder - should we be looking at the Championship for players of this ilk, who have got not particularly much background? The flip side to that is we have got to trust the people who are running the club because they have made a lot of good decisions. They've also made some that aren't great - we've spoken about wide players and quite a few haven't set the house on fire.

"The fee is £8m and that is a lot of money, but it's not a lot of money in the context of what we're seeing in the Premier League. If you can make this player into someone you can sell for £20-30m in two years' time, that's the way clubs are looking in the band that we are in the Premier League."

BBC Radio Newcastle commentator Nick Barnes added: "It's potentially a coup for Sunderland because they've got in quick ahead of other clubs in the Premier League.

"We've seen Ipswich change their transfer policy, Newcastle to a degree - they're looking at Belgian clubs and clubs on the continent to try to source these young players."

Listen to more on Sunderland on BBC Sounds

Sunderland commentator Nick Barnes says he has "great trust" in the Black Cats squad for this season, but Premier League survival is still the number one aim.

Speaking to Matt Bailey in a special show where listeners can get to know the BBC Radio Newcastle commentator and learn about his journey in football, Barnes gave his thoughts about the new campaign in which Sunderland will also play in Europa League.

"I hope they stay up as that's key," he said. "The supporters that I've spoken to already this season are very much of the opinion that finishing 17th to stay in the league is key and anything else is a bonus.

"I have great trust in the squad. Regis le Bris is very shrewd and he doesn't like working with a big squad. He's kept the core squad, with a lot of them now having a year of Premier League experience.

"I don't fear about them holding their own this season. It will be tougher because they have the extra Europa League games, but I'm excited."

Listen to the full conversation on BBC Sounds to hear about his favourite matches, managers and ground. Nick also talks about his preparation and colourful notes before games, which he shares on social media and you can see below.

Jonty Colman
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

The third-round draw for the 2026-27 Carabao Cup will take place on Wednesday, 26 August following the conclusion of Preston North End vs Everton.

Nine Premier League clubs taking part in European football join the 23 first-round winners from across the English Football League.

Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Bournemouth, Sunderland, Brighton and Crystal Palace will enter the competition at this stage, as the top eight Premier League clubs from the 2025-26 season plus Crystal Palace as Conference League winners.

It will be broadcast live on Sky Sports following the conclusion of the third round tie between Preston North End and Everton, kicking off at 20:00 BST.

Unlike the opening two rounds of the competition, the third round draw is not regionalised.

However, before the match at Deepdale there will be a pre-draw determining which of the Champions League and Europa League clubs will play at home or away in round three.

In order to avoid potential scheduling issues, the eight Champions League and Europa League clubs cannot be drawn against each other in round three.

When the draw takes place, the first eight fixtures decided are the ones involving clubs in the Champions League and Europa League. The remainder of the draw will be an open draw as usual.

Due to clashes with opening weeks of the Champions League and Europa League seasons, the third round will be played across two different weeks. They are the weeks commencing Monday, 7 and Monday, 14 September, 2026.

Image source, Getty Images

Sunderland winger Romaine Mundle has signed a new deal to keep him at the club until 2030.

The 23-year-old said he is "grateful" and that it "feels amazing" to be part of the Wearside club.

"I'm growing every day, training hard and the people around me are really helping so I think there's a lot more to come," added Mundle.

Mundle joined Sunderland in February 2024 and has represented the Black Cats 53 times in all competitions.

Sunderland's Director of Football, Florent Ghisolfi said: "He has important qualities that can make a difference at this level, particularly his pace, directness and ability to create opportunities.

"At 23, there is still plenty of room for him to develop further."

Mundle has not played a competitive game for Regis le Bris' side since he picked up an injury in February earlier this year, but he was named on the bench in the 2-1 defeat to Ipswich Town at Portman Road.

Matthew Henry
BBC Sport Journalist

With the signings of French full-back Dayann Methalie from Toulouse and Antwerp midfielder Jules Ahoka over the line, the obvious position Sunderland still need to fill is right wing.

Sporting's Geny Catamo is the name most heavily linked.

Asked about reported interest from the Premier League, Sporting boss Rui Borges insisted Catamo is "happy" at the Portuguese club, but we have seen before that does not necessarily mean much.

Given Eliezer Mayenda has left, meaning Brian Brobbey and Wilson Isidor are the club's only first-team strikers, another forward who plays through the middle is probably needed.

What business do you think still needs to get done before 23:00 BST on 1 September?

Get in touch with your views here

After an emphatic return to the Premier League last season, Sunderland were brought back down to earth on the opening day of the season with a 2-1 defeat at newly promoted Ipswich Town.

It was a performance which was dampened by two goals which were "avoidable" for Regis le Bris' side, according to ex-Black Cats forward Martin Smith, who told BBC Radio Newcastle it was Sunderland's "sloppy" passes that ultimately gifted the hosts victory.

"For passes into midfield, you have got to be so sure when you're in the backline that you're going to find your man in there, otherwise you're going to be asking for trouble," he added.

As well as their possession frailties, Smith believes the Black Cats are in need of a "fox in the box" to help convert more chances.

Brian Brobbey, Sunderland's top scorer last season with seven league goals, started the game up front but only had two shots at goal, one on target, throughout the 66 minutes he played.

"Brobbey has a lot of strengths, but those instinctive finishes are not one of them," said Smith.

Hit play above to hear the full clip or listen on BBC Sounds here

Image source, Getty Images

New signing Jules Ahoka says he is "very happy and proud" to join Sunderland on a long-term deal.

The 20-year-old signs from Royal Antwerp where he impressed as a combative midfielder.

He is Sunderland's third signing of the summer following the arrival of Thomas Meunier and Dayann Methalie.

"I am very happy and proud to join Sunderland," he said. "It is a big club with great ambitions, and I am excited to be here.

"I want to work hard, learn from my team-mates and the staff, and continue developing as a player.

"I will give everything for the club and I cannot wait to get started."

Director of Football, Florent Ghisolfi added: "Jules is a player we have been following closely and he has shown some very encouraging qualities for his age.

"His performances at the Toulon Tournament demonstrated his physicality, defensive qualities and mentality, while he has also gained valuable experience in Belgium.

"He has huge potential and we believe Sunderland is the right environment for him to continue his development.

"We are delighted to welcome him to the club and look forward to supporting him as he takes the next steps in his career."

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Ipswich and Sunderland.

Here are some of your comments:

Ipswich fans

Walter: First class performance against a very good Sunderland side. We thoroughly deserved our victory and a wonderful winning goal from Jack Clarke. I was very dubious with so many new signings and sad to see so many players leave, but if we maintain this level of performance then the future looks bright.

Raymond: Alright. I called O'Neil's appointment hugely underwhelming but I'm ready to eat my words and be convinced! What a game.

Frank: This was a very important victory. I predicted 2-1. Town controlled large portions of this match and yet, in the end, it took a bit of ingenuity from super sub Jack Clarke to get the Suffolk side all three points.

Ebeenezer: Exciting, fast-paced team with old and new players mixing in well. O'Shea finally taking on the captain's role, Diop running like a gazelle, Maeda working with Emersonn well. Defence was a true team effort - the goalie was only average at times but made one save that paid his wages. Substitutions excellent in composition and timing from our new manager. Let's hope all games are as exciting and the goals keep plopping into the net.

Sunderland fans

Denise: Deja Vu. We had plenty of possession and played some decent football, but like last season sloppy mistakes and our limited ability to create or capitalise on goal scoring opportunities cost us the game.

Stephen: Our biggest flaw last season was on full display at Ipswich - struggling to create enough opportunities to score goals, and when we did create opportunities they were wasted.

David: Two errors eventually cost us in a game we looked like we could go on to win at the break. More questions than answers for the management, particularly around the back four line up, the right side of midfield and how to improve our goal threat. Definitely no need for panic but a home win next weekend would help to calm the early season nerves.

Walter: It will be a hard season for the Black Cats and my advice would be to play reserves in European matches. I wish them good luck. Good goal from the free kick, but they need to create more in open play and turn possession in to effective possession, which is exactly what Ipswich did in this opener.

Former Black Cats defender Gary Bennett says Sunderland "were sloppy" in their 2-1 defeat to Ipswich Town and "were punished" for their mistakes.

"Teams now know how to play against Sunderland and know what their strengths and weaknesses are," said Bennett on BBC Radio Newcastle. "Brian Brobbey should have got his shots away.

"They got away with it last season because people didn't know much about him, but he needs to pull the trigger sooner."

Hit play above to hear Bennett and Nick Barnes' analysis on BBC Radio Newcastle, or listen on BBC Sounds here.

Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris, speaking to BBC MOTD: "We had the possession, but we had to find solutions to break their block. We tried, we created a few chances but we were not clinical enough.

"At the beginning of the season you can make mistakes, and they were really good at exploiting mistakes and scored twice."

On early season rustiness: "It is often the case. It is not unusual. Today it was massive because of the consequences, but this is the Premier League, it is ruthless. We know every team we face has quality.

"We have to lift our level when we are in this situation. Last season we struggled with this at times, so it is something to improve.

"Winning is important, but it is also about the style of play. Our regret is more about us because we made those mistakes. It is what it is.

"Good goal, nice goal, but obviously we are still disappointed because of the defeat.

"It is a process. In the Premier League you have to master different phases. We will learn from this experience."

Listen to more from Le Bris on BBC Sounds

Did you know?

• Sunderland have won their opening game in just one of their last nine Premier League campaigns (D4 L4) with that victory coming against West Ham United last season (3-0).

• Through Nilson Angulo's equaliser (1-1), Sunderland became the first team to see their first goal of a Premier League campaign come from a direct free-kick since Chelsea in 2021-22 (Alonso v Crystal Palace).

Josef Rindl
BBC Sport Journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Sunderland have had a quieter transfer window, holding on to their best players and only signing left-back Dayann Methalie and right-back Thomas Meunier who started on Saturday.

Last season, Regis Le Bris' side shocked the Premier League with a 3-0 opening-day win over West Ham on their way to an impressive seventh-placed finish.

On paper, the Black Cats were the stronger team on Saturday - and they had more of the possession, but created few clear-cut chances.

Other than the goal, their best chance came early in the second half at 1-1, but Brian Brobbey's close-range shot on the turn was blocked by Marcelino Nunez.

Sunderland's next match is at home to Fulham on Sunday, 30 August (14:00 BST).

They will also learn their league phase opponents in the Europa League in Friday's draw.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Ipswich's performance

What did you make of Sunderland's display?

Reaction and analysis to follow - and come back on Monday for a selection of your replies.

There are five games in the Premier League on Saturday as the opening weekend continues, and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Hull City v Man Utd (12:30)

• Everton v Crystal Palace - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Ipswich v Sunderland - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2

• Nottingham Forest v Leeds

• Brentford v Tottenham (17:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

Kick-off times 15:00 BST unless stated.

Follow all of the action and reaction here

You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on your smart speaker. Just say "Alexa, ask BBC Sounds to play Ipswich v Sunderland" or "Alexa, ask BBC Sounds to play the Tottenham match", for example.

How to follow the opening Premier League weekend across the BBC

New this season: Live match updates

Fans of Premier League clubs can now get real-time scores live on their phone lock screen for every game.

Simply follow your favourite football teams on the BBC Sport app for updates throughout the 2026-27 season.

Find out more here

New this season: Match of the Day Predictor

Simply predict the outcome of the six fixtures we've selected from across domestic and European competitions every week.

Players can join at any time, get involved with the latest round and start building a streak.

Read more about it here

You can find the predictor in the navigation bar at the top of this page, or on this link

I must point out that Ipswich boss Gary O'Neil is a former Norwich player, so where do his loyalties really lie? And has he gone to Ipswich to sabotage them?

Seriously though, I wish him well and I genuinely hope for East Anglia that Ipswich can make a decent fist of it and stay up.

I really like some of their signings too - Daizen Maeda is a player I know well and is a really good piece of business, coming in from Celtic.

Maeda plays with such intensity. He will be the best pressing player in the Premier League bar none and, if you want to play on the counter-attack and you want someone to run in behind, there are not many quicker than him.

Seeing what Sunderland did last season, when they also signed lots of players after getting promoted, will give Ipswich hope. Ditto with Leeds, who also recruited well.

But then it is about knitting the new players together and connecting early on. That has to be O'Neil's aim, but it will be difficult.

Sunderland did so well they qualified for Europe, and I am not sure how their squad will cope with the extra games. For now, though, I think they will remind us of how good they were last season.

Like I said on Monday Night Club, I never saw another team beat Arsenal up the way they did.

They faded as the campaign went on and they are not going to surprise anyone this time, but they still have the leadership of Granit Xhaka in midfield and Wilson Isidor and Brian Brobbey up top to hurt teams.

Sutton's prediction: 0-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Paul Birch
BBC Sport journalist

Ipswich are back in the Premier League and Gary O'Neil's side face a tough task against a Sunderland side that excelled last season in qualifying for Europe. BBC Sport takes a look at some of the key themes going into their opening-weekend encounter.

A promoted club spending big on a raft of ambitious signings from clubs around Europe. Sound familiar? Well, Ipswich have followed Sunderland's playbook from last season by spending big in the hope of giving themselves a better chance of survival than they had on their Premier League return two years ago.

Replicating the Black Cats' stunning achievement of qualifying for Europe will be a stretch of course, but the Tractor Boys hope a switch in recruitment policy will pay dividends.

During Kieran McKenna's four-and-a-half-year reign in charge at Portman Road a remarkable 32 of the 39 signings they made were either born or raised in Britain or Ireland, with just two joining directly from European clubs. However, this off season players have arrived who hail from the likes of Brazil, Japan and Ghana.

The summer hasn't all been plain sailing, though, given McKenna's bombshell departure from the club just a month after leading them to a third promotion in four seasons.

His replacement Gary O'Neil knows the Premier League well and also impressed at Strasbourg last season, but he has a point to prove having been wounded by the end of his tenure at Wolves. He won just two of his last 19 top-flight matches at Molineux and his reign was actually brought to an end by a fractious defeat to the Tractor Boys.

That win for Ipswich was one of only four they managed as their first top-flight season for 22 years ended in an immediate return to the Championship. Their form at Portman Road was particularly wretched in the second half of the season as they lost their last nine home league matches in a row to bow out with a whimper.

Tipped as relegation candidates at the start of last season, Sunderland defied the odds on their Premier League comeback to record their highest finish since 2000 with seventh place enough to secure European football for the first time in 53 years.

Having spent over £150m last summer they have gone the opposite way this time round with veteran Belgian defender Thomas Meunier their only major acquisition so far on a free transfer.

Arguably their most important piece of business was keeping hold of their key players and staving off a move from Chelsea for inspirational captain Granit Xhaka, who proved to be one of the signings of last season.

The strength of their recent recruitment was shown by their players doing so well at the World Cup. Only players from Real Madrid, PSG and Arsenal scored more goals in the USA, Canada and Mexico than their eight.

Balancing the rigours of the Europa League with the bread and butter of the Premier League will be a real challenge for Le Bris, but it is one he and his players are relishing.

Image source, Getty Images

Sunderland's second summer signing Dayann Methalie says he "can't wait to pull on the shirt" after making the "easy decision" to pen a long-term contract at the Stadium of Light.

The 20-year-old left-back, who came through Toulouse's youth set-up, broke into their first team last season and made his Ligue 1 debut against Nice in August 2025.

Methalie made 30 appearances in all competitions last season as Toulouse recorded a ninth-place league finish and reached the French Cup semi-finals.

"I'm really excited to be here," Methalie, who will wear the number six shirt, said. "This is a brilliant time to join the club.

"I followed Sunderland's progress last season and it was incredible to see the team finish seventh in the Premier League and qualify for the Europa League.

"When I heard about the opportunity to come here, it was an easy decision. I know how ambitious the club is and I want to help the team continue to progress and give the supporters plenty to be proud about."

Director of Football Florent Ghisolfi said: "He is a player we have appreciated and followed for a long time. We believe his qualities are very well suited to Sunderland, both in terms of our football identity and the personality within the group.

"Despite his young age, he has already shown a lot of quality and potential. His performances over the past year have naturally attracted interest from several clubs, however he showed a very strong desire to join Sunderland."

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

Image source, Getty Images

Sunderland had a fantastic season back in the Premier League as they qualified for Europe for the first time in 53 years by finishing seventh.

But, the fact that they ranked 18th for expected goal difference suggests there's much to improve on if they want to truly establish themselves again in the top flight.

The Black Cats' attack was one of the tamest in the league. Only Wolves, Burnley and Crystal Palace scored fewer goals, while just the bottom two sides took fewer shots and had a lower xG going forward.

Although only Burnley and West Ham gave up more shots at the back, Sunderland were much better defensively. Only champions Arsenal conceded a lower percentage of their opponents' shots and that's largely because only the Gunners gave up harder chances to score on average, although the Black Cats still let in six goals fewer than expected given the quality of chances they faced.

Overall, only Manchester City and Aston Villa overperformed their xG numbers by more than Regis le Bris' side - and with Europe to contend with, it would be no surprise if they had a less incredible season this time around.

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

Image source, Getty Images

In the Premier League last season, 13 of the 20 teams finished with between 40 and 60 points - the most in an English top-flight campaign since 2003-04 (also 13).

Was the Premier League so competitive in 2025-26 because the quality of the 'lesser' teams got better or the top teams got worse? It is hard to know for sure.

Given how savvy clubs like Brighton, Brentford and Bournemouth are, the vast amounts of money that enable even bottom-half sides to sign the best talent from abroad and the Premier League's current dominance of the Europa League and Conference League, it would seem to be the former.

However, the fact that promoted play-off winners Sunderland were able to finish above 13 teams in their first season back suggests the league was maybe not as strong as we think.

What we do know is that whether because they got worse or their opponents got better, four of the sides that finished in the top seven in 2024-25 - champions Liverpool, Chelsea, Newcastle and Nottingham Forest - took 79 points fewer between them last season.

While Forest's decline was perhaps expected given their incredible seventh-place finish in 2024-25 and their journey to the Europa League semi-finals last season, the others were far more surprising.

Sunderland and Leeds smashed the recent run of promoted sides struggling to compete by taking 64 more points than the teams they replaced in the top flight.

As a result, this season will be a bit of an upside-down one in that Bournemouth, Brighton and Sunderland have European campaigns to navigate while Chelsea, Tottenham and Newcastle do not.

Will we therefore see a bounce-back to the more 'traditional' order in 2026-27 or are we truly entering a new, fiercely-competitive era of the Premier League?

Read more on the Premier League's competitiveness

Grace Wheeler
BBC Sport journalist

Sunderland boss Regis le Bris has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against newly promoted Ipswich at Portman Road (kick-off 15:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• On the upcoming campaign, which will feature European football in the Europa League: "I am excited. We are going into one of the most exiting seasons in 52 years. It will be challenging but a big boost for the club and the lads last season earned it."

• He added: "We're back in Europe and competing in the Premier League, so we know it's going to be challenging, but we earned it."

• On team news: "All of our player are available expect Simon [Adingra]. We will see about the game time because they [all the players] are not the same fitness-wise."

• Asked how important the first game of the season is, Le Bris replied: "It is important to start well because you build the momentum, but you still have an opponent. And you can lose - that is possible. The only thing we have under control is us and after that, you will see the results."

• He added: "If we follow the pundits and the odds it's hard to be positive. It's about being Sunderland and not the odds. We will stay true to ourselves."

• When asked about a deal for Toulouse left-back Dayann Methalie, who reportedly has had issues with a medical after the Black Cats agreed a £25.6m fee to sign the 20-year-old last week, Le Bris said: "No comment."

• On the situation of captain Granit Xhaka, who was a target for Chelsea earlier this summer: "Behind the scenes, nothing happened with him. It is really clear - he loves this club and this group. He loves to be a part of this journey."

• On transfer business more generally, he added: "It is good to keep the core of the group. Players want to stay in Sunderland and that is big. It is quality not quantity and we want the same dynamic as last season."

• Le Bris said the market "isn't easy" but he "trusts the club and the process of the window". He added: "If we don't have early signings this season there is a reason. It's not because we don't want to achieve the targets but because it is not possible at the minute."

Hit play above to hear more from Le Bris, speaking to BBC Radio Newcastle's Nick Barnes, or listen on BBC Sounds here

Listen to full commentary of Ipswich v Sunderland on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2 and BBC Sounds on Saturday

Follow all of Thursday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Got a question about Sunderland? Get in touch here and we'll seek answers from our experts

Image source, Getty Images

BBC Radio Newcastle's Sunderland commentator Nick Barnes says a deal to sign Dayann Methalie from Toulouse is "not over" despite reports it had collapsed after concerns were raised over his medical.

The Black Cats had agreed a £25.6m fee to sign the 20-year-old left-back last week.

"It's not a deal that's dead," Barnes told BBC Radio Newcastle.

"It's a deal that they still want to go through. It is obviously taking a little bit longer than they hoped. The player himself is understandably distraught at being flown over here and being impressed with everything to having to go back to France and do an investigation into what has caused this delay.

"The club very much still want to sign him, it's now about going through the process in France and that side of the medical.

"It's very much a deal that they still want to happen. It's not over. It's not a done deal but the process continues."

Listen to the full chat on BBC Sounds