Sunderland’s preparation for the summer transfer window is already underway but Florent Ghisolfi says there’s unlikely to be a repeat of last year’s influx of new arrivals.
Instead the focus on Wearside will be “stability”, with the Black Cats likely to approach the summer as they did the January window.
Sunderland revamped their squad in preparation for their return to the Premier League last summer, and with the Black Cats enjoying a superb first half to the campaign, they were able to focus on quality and future talent rather than quantity in January.
Melker Ellborg, Nilson Angulo and Jocelin Ta Bi arrived in the winter window, and although the trio have all featured for Regis Le Bris’ first team, they were brought in with the future in mind.
Ghisolfi has led Sunderland’s recruitment since his arrival last summer, and preparation for the window at the end of this season is well underway, though the club’s director of football since the Black Cats won’t only be investing in new players.
He said: “We are working on the different scenarios but the most important is to know that we will stay in the league. This is important for us to have clarity.
“Now, working on the organisation first, working on the facilities, because we need to anticipate and last summer was difficult for that. So now we have time and we are starting to work.
“For the summer, we will improve the team, of course, we’ll try but you never know. We’ll try but I think the stability will be the most important thing. The same idea as in the winter, I think will be very important.”
A number of Sunderland’s stars have been linked with moves away, with Robin Roefs and Noah Sadiki among those to attract interest from clubs at the top end of the Premier League.
Ghisolfi says Sunderland won’t be in a position where they need to sell, but admitted exits are an inevitable element of the club’s recruitment model.
Speaking on BBC Radio Newcastle’s Total Sport show, which was held at the Academy of Light, Ghisolfi said: “The first thing is, you are right, that we want to build a sustainable club. This is the first thing.
“The second thing is, we don’t need to sell for that because of the Premier League resources. Of course, we will sell, sometimes, some players. Because also, we spoke about cycles with players, and I think it’s important when we want to attract young and talented players, we need also to show that if they come to Sunderland it’s not always the final destination.
“If they want to step up in a top club in the future of course we’ll have to do [it sometimes], but we don’t have the pressure for that.”
Ghisolfi says Sunderland are doing all they can to establish themselves as a Premier League club.
He said: “This is the plan. You never know, because today fighting for relegation you have Tottenham, you have West Ham, you have Nottingham Forest.
“They are clubs in the European competition this year or the last one, so they are big clubs.
“I think when you perform and compete in the best football league in the world, you cannot have a clear plan, and say ‘okay, we’ll be top ten in two years’. Again, I think we need to be focused [foremost] on how we want to build, the values, the identity. And of course, I want that. I want stability also, like the fans.
“We want to stay, to become an established club in the Premier League and to be stronger. And if one year you will have a relegation, because it can happen, you will be stronger than before. But the plan is to continue to build, working on everything. Not only the team and the players, but on the facilities, the team, the staff, the academy, everything in the meantime.”
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