‘Joy to watch’ – This Sunderland player has spearheaded stunning run
Sunderland have shocked the Premier League with their superb early-season form as a newly promoted side.
The Black Cats sit fourth in the table after nine games, and have already picked up 17 points so far.
On Saturday (25 October), Sunderland beat Chelsea 2-1 at Stamford Bridge to record their fifth win of the campaign.
Regis Le Bris‘ side now have a real chance to become the first promoted team in three years to avoid immediate relegation back to the Championship.
Sunderland have midfield maestro making them tick
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes that former Arsenal man Granit Xhaka is the one making Sunderland’s midfield tick.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Wyness insisted that the Serbian international has inspired the rest of the squad with his experience and knowledge.
Xhaka joined Sunderland from Bayer Leverkusen over the summer, for a fee of around £17million
Wyness added that the Black Cats deserve to be where they are in the Premier League table.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “Well, the one stat that stuck out to me was that from the win at Chelsea, only four of the team were from last season. It shows a huge turnover of players that Regis Le Bris has brought in, and how well he has done in making the cohesion work.
“They’re playing decent stuff and they’ve been a joy to watch. Sunderland fans have been over the moon with the way things are going, as they should be, and a little bit of consistency is starting to creep in there, which is good for them.
“No doubt Granit Xhaka is the one that’s making the whole thing tick in my view. His experience and his knowledge has inspired the rest of the squad to lift themselves up a level.
“There’s no doubt they’re doing it in style. It isn’t just lucky wins or battling out wins. They’re doing it and deserving it.”
Sunderland eyeing Chelsea striker
Meanwhile, Sunderland are reportedly hoping to re-sign Marc Guiu from Chelsea in the January transfer window.
That is according to former Sunderland and Man United chief scout Mick Brown, who claims that negotiations should be straightforward after the deal was agreed in the summer.
Guiu joined Sunderland on loan during the summer but his loan spell was cut short.
Chelsea recalled Guiu after Nicolas Jackson completed a move to Bayern Munich, leaving the Blues in need of reinforcements up front.
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