In Pursuit of Excellence | Sunderland A.F.C.

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Sunderland Sign Connor Bradley from Real Madrid for £25,000,000

Sunderland have completed the signing of Brendan Rodgers' countryman, Connor Bradley from Real Madrid for a £25,000,000 fee. The 23 year old right back will replace Arnau Martinez in the starting lineup and help restore depth to the position with Pembele moving back to being his backup. Bradley came from Liverpool's academy but left for Real Madrid early in his career and hasn't been able to get much playing time at the Spanish giant.

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Angel Gomes Joins Sunderland from Augsburg for £33M

Continuing the trend of signing former academy players of English giants, Sunderland have completed a £33M transfer for Angel Gomes of FC Augsburg. Gomes was sold by Manchester United early in his career and had decent but not great stints in both Portugal and France before coming to Germany. He did well at Augsburg last season and it's earned him a move to the premier league. Gomes is expected to slot in as the team's first choice attacking midfielder for this upcoming season. There were rumors that Sunderland might pursue the signature of Jobe Bellingham's brother, Jude, one of world football's best players to fill the #10 role, but his wage demands were deemed to be out of bounds for the club at present.

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Sunderland Find Jack Clarke's Replacement with £45M Deal for Anthony Gordon

Sunderland will draw the ire of Newcastle fans everywhere with this one. Newcastle sold Anthony Gordon hastily after a poor first season at the club, and he has since sparkled on the left wing for Crystal Palace. The 25 year old is incredibly fast, hard working and can chip in with goals and assists from wide areas. He's not Jack Clarke but he's damn close and Sunderland are lucky to have the player going forward.

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Sunderland Continue Building Impressive British Core with Swoop for Jarrad Branthwaite

Jarrad Branthwaite had been linked with big moves to the big six premier league clubs a couple years back, but injuries derailed those opportunities. He has quietly been a stellar performer for Brighton since and Sunderland were alerted to his play. With the ability to offer Champions League football, it was not a hard sell for Sunderland to convince Branthwaite to join the club. The Black Cats agreed to pay a £37.2M fee to Brighton for the player who will earn £55K/week on his new contract at Sunderland.

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Sunderland Bring Back Goalkeeper Anthony Patterson for £25M fee

Anthony Patterson left Sunderland a couple of years ago after being displaced from the starting XI by Yann Sommer. He was seeking the opportunity to start elsewhere and got that at French club Stade Rennais. This year, however, with Sommer's contract expiring and Bazunu performing poorly for most of last season, he's been offered a chance to return to the club as the starter. Patterson will be given the first choice position at the club as a guarantee in his return with Bazunu continuing to fill the backup role behind him. Patterson reportedly was also seeking the captaincy but it seems likely that Leif Davis, who led the league in assists the past two seasons and is a superb leader for the club, will receive that honor after the armband was relinquished by Sommer in his departure.

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Jobe Bellingham Joins His Brother in Madrid for £28M

Jobe Bellingham finally had a breakout season last year at 20 years old, scoring 20 goals in all competitions for Sunderland while playing central midfield, center forward and striker throughout the season. Sunderland had dreams of one day uniting him with his brother Jude, and those dreams have finally been realized, however it won't be in England. Jobe is set to join his brother in Madrid for a £28.3M fee just days ahead of Sunderland's UEFA Super Cup Final against the Spanish and European champions. It's a bitter pill to swallow for Sunderland, losing their best young prospect, but the club will rebound and look to make a signing of another striker to complement Ivan Toney before the window closes.

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Liam Delap Leaves Man City for Sunderland

With Bellingham out, Sunderland needed a new young striker to act as cover for Ivan Toney. They've got that now in Manchester City's Liam Delap. The 23-year-old Englishman is very talented but has been stuck behind Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez the last several years. This will be his first chance to really get meaningful playing time in the Premier League and Sunderland is hoping he can deliver on the hype around him.

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Sunderland Announce 2026-27 Squad

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Sunderland Make Statement, Destroy Real Madrid in Super Cup

August 12th , 2026
UEFA Super Cup
Stadion Europa
Real Madrid vs. Sunderland

1 - 6


Leif Davis lifts a trophy for the first time as Sunderland captain.

Match Facts
52% - Possession - 48%
6 - Shots - 12
1.1 - xG - 3.4
0 - Corners - 0
1 - Free Kicks - 1
0 - Penalties - 0
1 - Yellow Cards - 0
0 - Red Cards - 0

Match Events
9' N. Fernandez (RMA)
22' T. Courtois (RMA)
26' C. Bradley (SUN)
38' N. Madueke (SUN)
41' A. Gordon (SUN)
45' I. Toney (SUN)
80' A. Gordon (SUN)
82' Vini Jr. (RMA)

Man of the Match
Anthony Gordon (SUN): 8.3 rating, 2 goals

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Sunderland Batter Forest to Open the Premier League Campaign

August 15th, 2026
Premier League - Matchday #1
Stadium of Light
Sunderland (17th) vs. Nottingham Forest (16th)

5 - 1


The boys celebrate with Toney after he puts them back in the lead

Match Facts
46% - Possession - 54%
12 - Shots - 7
4.9 - xG - 0.9
1 - Corners - 1
0 - Free Kicks - 3
0 - Penalties - 0
0 - Yellow Cards - 0
0 - Red Cards - 0

Match Events
30' A. Gomes (SUN)
39' D. Drachal (NOT)
43' I. Toney (SUN)
52' A. Gomes (SUN)
78' N. Madueke (SUN)
90' J. Duranville (SUN)

Man of the Match
Noni Madueke (SUN): 8.3 rating, 1 goal, 2 assists