Sunderland will survive relegation this season thanks to their recruitment
Sunderland manager Regis Le Bris(Image: SmartFrame/Every Second Media)
Former Premier League title-winning captain Tim Sherwood reckons Sunderland are on course for a top-half finish in the Premier League.
But suggestions they could be in the title race are well wide of the mark according to the ex-Blackburn Rovers and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder.
Like other pundits, Sherwood has been left open-mouthed at the Black Cats’ start to the campaign. Speaking on Sky Sports News, Sherwood shut down any title talk although interestingly, Sunderland are one point better off than Leicester City when they won a historic title triumph back in 2016.
While Sherwood doesn’t think that will happen, he is convinced that the Black Cats will have more than enough to avoid the drop.
Sherwood said: “I think they finish mid-table. At the beginning of the season – and I won’t be alone with this – I thought they would get relegated.
“I think their recruitment has been absolutely outstanding. Granit Xhaka has been deciding in the summer for me.
“So, you can look forward, Sunderland fans, to another season in the Premier League next year. And I’m sure at the beginning of the season you would have taken that with both hands. But I would think they would finish around 10th.”
Sherwood’s comments were mirrored by fellow Sky Sports pundit Clinton Morrison, who also believes that Sunderland will stay up.
During a recent interview, he said: “They’re safe already – 100 per cent. I think Sunderland will stay in the Premier League this season without a shadow of a doubt.
“I think Sunderland have been fantastic. The manager has been outstanding. That wasn’t a smash and grab against Chelsea – they were always in the game, they were competitive, they defended ever so well.
“I think the recruitment has been outstanding. In particular, I think [Granit] Xhaka’s been ridiculous. What a signing. When I first saw he was going to Sunderland, I was like, ‘Is he going to be the same player?’, and when he’s gone there, I think he’s even better.
“[Wilson] Isidor is scoring goals, and you always say, ‘Can you make that jump? Can you make the jump from the Championship to the Premier League?’. Isidor has done that. What a performance from Sunderland.
“But yeah, I don’t worry about Sunderland. Sunderland will 100 per cent stay in the Premier League. I predicted that at the start of the season – and we’ll get to see that on Soccer Saturday.
“I wasn’t one that tipped Sunderland to go down, because I thought the money they spent when they lost a lot of players was [done] ever so well, and they’ve got a very good manager.”
