Sunderland and Leeds sent stark financial warning ahead of Premier League return
Sunderland will begin their return to the Premier League with a game against West Ham at the Stadium of Light, but Regis Le Bris will know his side needs strengthening before then.
After winning promotion with a win against Sheffield United at Wembley Stadium, a return to the Premier League probably feels much more real for the Black Cats, with a fixture list to confirm what’s ahead.
However, the excitement may be short-lived after it has been revealed just what lies ahead for Le Bris‘ side next term.
Sunderland face tough Premier League restrictions
Sunderland are heading to the Premier League alongside Leeds United and Burnley.
Although all three sides have history in the top flight, the task of retaining a place next season is no easy ask.
Once again, all three newly promoted sides came straight back down to the Championship last season, as the job of staying up gets harder each year.
Unfortunately for Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, he will be looking ahead to this summer with some dread, too, as financial restrictions keep a tight hold on spending ability.
According to Kieran Maguire, talking live on talkSPORT (17 June), the newly promoted sides are already at a disadvantage as he said: “The established Premier League teams can lose £105million, but Sunderland for example, can only lose £61m because you’re restricted if you’ve just been promoted. So it is more difficult.
“Sunderland can spend a lot of money, they could drop £220m but that’s assuming that they’ve got it in their bank account to spend.
“Leeds are probably a wee bit less, £100-150m. For PSR reasons, they can spend, but it’s a bit like having a credit card, spending to your limit doesn’t mean it’s a good thing.”
Maguire went on to explain the rules in more detail as he confirmed: “The way that the system works is that you’re assessed over your last three years.
“So, if your last three years have been in the Premier League, every year you’re in the Premier League you can lose £35m, so if you’ve got a club like Wolves or Palace or Brighton, they’ve been in the Premier League a few years, they can lose £105m.
“If you’ve just been promoted from the Championship, you get £35m allowable loss for your first season in the Premier League, but each season that you’ve been in the Championship, you can only lose £13m.
“So if we take a look at Sunderland, they’ve been promoted from League One through to the Championship, now they’re in the Premier League. Thirty-five plus two 13s means they’ve got a £61m, Leeds have got a 61 and Burnley, because they’ve had two years in the Premier League, they can lose 83.”
Sunderland have to keep expectations in line
Sunderland are under no illusions that they face a difficult test next season, but achieving safety in the Premier League is an achievable aim for next season.
| Played | Won | Drawn | Lost |
| 46 | 21 | 13 | 12 |
With that in mind, Le Bris has to keep his side’s expectations in line and take things one step at a time.
For now, it is about using the market as effectively as possible to put together a squad that is capable of competing and with Jobe Bellingham’s sale, that should be a slightly easier task than previously anticipated.
When the season gets underway, it will then be up to the manager to make sure his side are playing the most adaptable football they can to grind out results.
If the Black Cats can stay up next term, that in itself is a success which can then be built upon. However, they can’t come under the risk of going for too much too soon.