Sunderland's super summer: Every signing so far

With Sunderland making seven signings already this summer, football writer Alex Keble examines the promoted side's acquisitions so far. 

Sunderland have spent more money in this transfer window than any club outside the traditional ‘Big Six’, spending a reported £140 million on eight players – doubling their previous club record for a single summer.

They aren’t just bulking out - they are signing genuine star quality in a huge statement of intent.

Here, we look at Sunderland’s busy summer transfer window so far:

Granit Xhaka (Midfielder)

By far the biggest coup is the deal to sign former Arsenal midfielder Xhaka for a fee reportedly in the region of £17m.

Xhaka emerged as a vital cog in the heart of Arsenal's midfield, and a surprisingly elegant puller of the strings under Mikel Arteta, before going on to star for Xavi Alonso’s title-winning Bayer Leverkusen.

There are many Arsenal fans who believe selling Xhaka in the summer of 2023 weakened the team, removing a grace and sturdiness from the middle of the park. That Arteta prioritised signing Mikel Merino 12 months ago adds weight to that theory.

Sunderland’s midfield just got a lot sharper and smarter. Xhaka’s leadership skills alone make him worth the fee – and instantly a crucial component of the club’s campaign.

Most PL final third passes completed in 22/23

Habib Diarra (Midfielder)

A new club-record signing reportedly costing £30m, central midfielder Diarra is a direct replacement for the departed Jobe Bellingham.

Those are huge boots to fill, but Diarra was impressive last season for Strasbourg, helping them to achieve European qualification for only the second time in two decades.

Diarra is powerful in the dribble and intelligent between the lines, providing just the type of explosive and creative player the Black Cats need to fill the gap left by Bellingham.

The Senegal international made 30 Ligue 1 appearances last season, scoring five goals and assisting a further nine. He also netted in Senegal's 3-1 victory over England at Wembley in June.

Diarra is aggressive with the ball and all-action without it - he should be a hit.

Simon Adingra (Winger)

It wasn’t long ago that Adingra was one of the most talked-about young players in English football.

A tricky winger capable of dazzling on both sides of the pitch, he was one of Brighton’s best players in the 2023/24 season, in the middle of which he played a huge part in Ivory Coast’s Africa Cup of Nations win, providing both assists in a 2-1 victory over Nigeria in the final.

Adingra was named as Best Young Player Of The Tournament, and the world appeared to be at his feet.

The arrival of a new head coach, Fabian Hurzeler, as well as Yankuba Minteh, limited his game-time in 2024/25, allowing Sunderland to pounce.

Adingra follows a trend of quick, ball-carrying players prioritised by Regis Le Bris this summer as the head coach looks for his Sunderland side to move towards a counter-attacking approach at Premier League level.

Brighton's highest PL goal contributions 23/24

Enzo Le Fee (Midfielder)

Le Fee is already familiar to Sunderland fans having made 11 league appearances in 2024/25 following his loan arrival from AS Roma in January, and it seemed only natural that this strong, yet creative, No 10 would sign on a permanent deal.

“I said before the playoff final that my heart was in Sunderland,” said Le Fee. “I wanted to stay, and this made it the most important game of my life.”

Although mostly starting off the left, Le Fee may move into a central role this season given the influx of mazy wingers at the Stadium of Light.

Chemsdine Talbi (Winger)

Another winger, another decent outlay, and another player at his best with space to dribble into, Talbi arrives off the back of a breakthrough season in the UEFA Champions League with Club Brugge.

The 20-year-old right-winger scored twice in a 3-1 victory over Atalanta that secured Brugge’s qualification for the last 16 of the Champions League, while in a 3-2 defeat at Manchester City, only Phil Foden (nine) completed more progressive carries than the four of Talbi.

It’s a statistic Sunderland’s recruitment team appear to have looked at closely.

Talbi’s 95 progressive carries ranks him fourth in the Belgian Pro League. Meanwhile Diarra, likely to start on the other wing, is in the 88th percentile for progressive carries (2.3 per 90) among midfielders in Europe’s ‘Big Five’ leagues, according to FBRef.

Noah Sadiki (Midfielder)

Central midfielder Sadiki – signed for a reported fee of £15m - is fresh from helping Royale Union Saint-Gilloise win the Belgian Pro League.

Sadiki is an excellent dribbler and the kind of midfielder who slaloms through the lines.

Aged 20, he is another young player who may need some time to settle, but with European experience Sadiki fits the trend of Sunderland’s transfer business.

Last season he played every minute of the UEFA Europa League victories against Ajax and Nice.

Reinildo (Left-back)

Experienced defender Reinildo adds serious leadership and experience in the dressing room.

The ex-Atletico Madrid left-back arrives on a free transfer after making 99 appearances for Diego Simeone’s team across three seasons.

Reinildo has often been a squad player, but the fact that Simeone trusted him in the defensive line speaks volumes.

The 31-year-old’s peak last season was playing the full 90 minutes of Atletico’s 1-0 home win over rivals Real Madrid in the Champions League round of 16.

A clean sheet against Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, and Jude Bellingham - that’s the defensive experience newly-promoted teams can usually only dream of.

Robin Roefs (Goalkeeper)

Sunderland have found a new number one, signing 22-year-old NEC Nijmegen goalkeeper Roefs for a reported fee of £11.5 million after a statistically impressive season.

Roefs kept a brilliant 10 clean sheets in 32 Eredivisie matches, conceding a total of 46 goals.

But more importantly, he topped the division charts for ‘post-shot (Expected Goals) xG minus goals allowed’, at +9.7, a number that only five goalkeepers in Europe’s Big Five leagues bettered last season.

‘Post-shot xG’ calculates the xG of a shot based on where it went on the goalmouth. Subtracting the total goals conceded from this number gives a good indication of how many goals a goalkeeper actively prevented with their shot-stopping.

Roefs, on that metric, could be one of the best around.