Pulis amazed as he shares what he’s been told about Sunderland transfers
Sunderland are investing heavily ahead of their return to the Premier League.
Luis Suarez could be the next player to make the move to the Stadium of Light, with Sunderland reportedly interested in the striker.
This comes after the Black Cats already smashed their record transfer fee to sign midfielder Habib Diarra from Strasbourg.
Sunderland managed to beat relegation rivals Leeds United to the signing of Diarra, giving Regis Le Bris the upper hand before a ball has even been kicked.
Tony Pulis gives Sunderland transfer verdict
Noah Sadiki could become the latest midfielder to join Diarra in the North East, with Sunderland closing in on a deal after the player announced his departure from Union Saint-Gilloise.
Former Stoke City manager Tony Pulis knows a thing or two about how to assemble a team to avoid relegation.
Pulis feels that Sunderland must keep investing, but they must do so wisely and in players who are upgrades to what Le Bris already has at his disposal.
The signing of Sadiki for a reported fee of £1.7million could support Pulis’ claim that you don’t have to spend “hundreds of millions” to stay in the Premier League.
Speaking to Fruity King, Pulis said: “I’ve been told that Sunderland might go and keep spending and I think all three promoted teams need to do that. But, what is important is that the manager has the system that he wants to play and the players coming in have to be better than the players that he had last year,
“It’ll be interesting to see how that pans out over the next month or so before the season starts. If you’re smart enough and invest in the right players, you don’t have to spend hundreds of millions to stay up in the Premier League.”
He continued: “Whether they’re Premier League players who can’t break into the first team or whether they’re players that you can take out of the Championship that you know will step up, you’ve got to be really smart with it.
“It amazes me when teams just throw money at players individually, but collectively they are a mess, that makes no sense whatsoever to me.”
Sunderland don’t seem to be adopting this strategy, with the bulk of their signings and players they’re linked to coming from overseas.
Sunderland must blend experience with calculated gambles
Pulis’ advice for recruitment is something that would have worked ten years ago to keep Sunderland in the division, but the landscape of the Premier League has changed radically.
If Sunderland were to go sign cast-offs from other Premier League clubs, then it would come at a premium that would limit the amount of signings the Black Cats could make.
Signing unknown players from overseas is a risk, but a calculated one. Sunderland must take these risks to bridge the gap with clubs that currently have more resources.
Balancing this with singing players with top-flight experience like Jordan Henderson, will be crucial for Le Bris over the summer.
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