After eight seasons outside the luxuries of the Premier League, it’s fair to say Sunderland returned with a bang against West Ham United.
The first half played out as a tense 0-0 affair, before the Black Cats then suddenly burst into life as Eliezer Mayenda, Daniel Ballard, and Wilson Isidor all found the back of the net in quick succession to hand Regis Le Bris’ underdogs a glorious 3-0 win.
Off the back of such an impressive victory, Sunderland find themselves just below top spot in the Premier League on goal difference, owing to Manchester City’s slightly more emphatic 4-0 success.
The aim will be to continue to put wins on the board to ensure a heartbreaking relegation doesn’t happen, with more signings looking to be in the pipeline, too, in order to help matters on the pitch.
Sunderland explore move for £30m star
Sunderland really have been one of the big spenders in the Premier League this summer, despite their newly promoted status.
£141.5m has been splashed out in total on 12 brand new signings, with the Black Cats adding former Bayer Leverkusen right-back Nordi Mukele to their camp just after the resounding triumph over the Hammers for £9.5m.
More cash could soon be spent on landing Getafe attacker Christantus Uche, with both Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers also keen on the Nigerian forward, on top of Le Bris’ outfit further taking a fancy to this new £30m target to upgrade their options up top.
Indeed, it had been reported that Sunderland had lodged a £27m bid for Leicester City star Abdul Fatawu. An update from BBC Sport confirms that the Wearside club is exploring a possible move for the standout Foxes winger, but a move may well prove to be tricky to get over the line, owing to his pricey valuation, which is now allegedly closer to £30m.
That means any move for the Ghanaian to join the Stadium of Light ranks would match their record transfer fee for Habib Diarra.
It could well be deemed a gamble worth exploring, with a potential here for Sunderland to pick up their next Amad Diallo if Fatawu goes on to be as tricky and effective as the Ivorian was all those years ago donning the famous red and white stripes.
