It was a moment to set red and white alarm bells ringing.
Nordi Mukiele’s claim that Sunderland have become “arrogant” after defeat to Bournemouth felt significant, as did dropping to the bottom of the Premier League table – although there is mitigation for that.
So what has gone wrong on Wearside? And what are the club doing to put it right?
Recruitment drive stalled
After a brilliant first summer the jury is out on Florent Ghisolfi’s work in the 2026 transfer window.
Among the priorities the Black Cats wanted to make the squad taller and more experienced for Europe, which explains the signings of Dayann Methalie and Kevin Danso. They also wanted versatility in wide areas.
But the market proved more difficult than the club expected, with little movement across Europe in the £20-30m price bracket Sunderland were working in.
That slowed the progress of their recruitment drive, meant bringing in another striker was impossible, and left them scrambling for key additions in the final days of the transfer window.
Malick Fofana is yet to make an impact – Regis Le Bris thinks he needs time to “adapt” – while Danso, a supposed plug-in-and-play option, has been error-prone. Jules Ahoka clearly has something but is young and will take time.
Of the players who departed Eliezer Mayenda and Lutsharel Geertruida would probably be getting plenty of minutes. The former’s absence has been felt with injuries to Brian Brobbey and Wilson Isidor.
These issues are ironic given Sunderland are now seen by many in the game as the blueprint for newly-promoted Premier League clubs.
Their boldness in totally overhauling their play-off winning squad – aided by a PSR “blank cheque” after some shrewd player-trading – won them admirers in boardrooms across the game. But success, and qualifying for Europe, has proved a double-edged sword.
Sunderland’s room for manoeuvre in the transfer market has been squeezed considerably by making it into the Europa League, which means they can only spend 70 per cent of their revenue on wages, transfer costs and agent fees. There is probably room to spend in January if needed – but it might mean a summer sale.
Dressing room ‘united’ – but displays dipping
Mukiele’s interview after Bournemouth was a remarkable intervention. To question the mentality of his teammates as he did felt like a fork in the road in a season beginning to spiral.
But this was not a Lisandro Martinez moment. There was no punishment from the club hierarchy or clear-the-air talks required to put it in context. Instead senior sources saw it as a good thing that he spoke out.
Granit Xhaka did the same last season but it largely remained behind closed doors.
“It’s actually a very honest dressing room. These guys aren’t hiding away from the fact things need to improve,” one insider tells The i Paper. It has been stressed that there is unity among the players and the club remains “united”.
Now the performances and displays need to match the rhetoric. Sunderland are not without talent in their squad but last season’s performance came on the back of hard work, humility and a willingness to shelve personal ambition for the greater good. Do those values still apply?
The opening-day defeat to Ipswich was a worry. Some observers felt they turned up with the swagger of a team that had finished seventh last season rather than the point-to-prove attitude they had 12 months before.
One insider has a more prosaic view – too many of their key men are suffering a dip in form simultaneously. Robin Roefs, brilliant last season, has the third lowest xG prevented of all 20 Premier League goalkeepers this term and is not playing well.
Xhaka is also struggling to replicate last season’s performances while the less said about Omar Alderete’s displays the better.
Backing for Le Bris amid fan scrutiny
The i Paper understands the Sunderland boss retains “plenty of credit in the bank” and there is no panic at the club about the position they find themselves in. To put it succinctly – the plan is to back Le Bris.
Given we are seven games into the Premier League season – and the club have made a winning start in Europe – it feels slightly surreal to even ask the question of the manager who has taken the team from 16th in the Championship into the Europa League in little over two seasons.
Kyril Louis-Dreyfus has proved himself ruthless in the past, but Le Bris is safe despite the early-season slump.
“Business as usual” is how sources describe the feeling at the Stadium of Light, but Le Bris is facing scrutiny from supporters, especially over team selections. Overlooking Chemsdine Talbi feels especially curious given he made an impact against Hull in the Carabao Cup.
He deserves time and patience to turn things round. This is a big week but he has shown before that he has the acumen and ability to lead this Black Cats side through rough periods.
Fixture pile-up – but ‘no excuses’
Playing Thursday-Sunday is a new experience for Sunderland and undoubtedly puts the pressure on. Injuries have already left them stretched and Le Bris’ attempt at rotation last week was only salvaged when senior men came off the bench to beat Torreense.
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The Black Cats are experimenting with ways to mitigate the impact of Europe. They stayed in Portugal an extra 48 hours to preserve sleep patterns – although the team then served up a stinker on the south coast. There are likely to be changes to the team again this week.
Some of this is unavoidable. They have progressed quicker than anticipated and it throws up issues. But as one senior source said this week: “It’s what we wanted – it can’t be used as an excuse.”