The news was perhaps put into perspective, though, by a crucial announcement through club channels on Monday. Interim CEO Tom Burwell announced a wave of new infrastructure projects that will take place at the Stadium of Light and Academy of Light this summer. They will work to improve the experience for supporters on a matchday and for players and staff on a daily basis, but it is notable that they also primarily reflect the drive to boost commercial revenues at the club. More corporate hospitality will be created, and a new LED advertising perimeter installed. With the new Squad Cost Ratio rules coming into force in the Premier League this summer, which will limit clubs to spending a proportion of their revenues on their first team, Sunderland are making concerted moves to get ahead of the game. Combine this with the bullish and positive noises from the football operation about the work Florent Ghisolfi has been doing over the last year to overhaul the recruitment and analysis departments, and the picture is of a club gearing up for a crucial few months to beat ‘second-season syndrome’ and grow further. There is no sign or no suggestion that investment or energy is slowing with eyes on a sale.

When The Echo spent some time with Burwell last month, it was clear that the ownership group and board are hugely ambitious and hold a genuine belief that the club can stabilise as a midtable Premier League club and kick on from there. If anything, the key criticism you could make in recent times is that this ambition has seen the club move too quickly in some areas to drive revenue, something that encouragingly seems to have been recognised in recent dialogue with supporters. Burwell and interim Chief Revenue Officer Scott McCubbin have been working on a raft of new commercial partnerships behind the scenes, with announcements likely over the summer.

The Echo has launched a new WhatsApp SAFC Channel to bring the latest news, analysis and team & injury updates direct to your phone. Simply click this link to join our SAFC WhatsApp channel.

Advertisement

It’s true that the club is in relative flux at the moment with interim appointments in some key roles behind the scenes, but insiders have previously rejected any inference that this is due a possible sale down the line. A permanent CEO is being actively sought, but sources say this is a lengthy process as the best candidates are invariably in work and have long notice periods to serve. Burwell has himself confirmed that he has spoken in recent times to prospective candidates for the job.

It makes sense that the ownership would take this moment to reflect and assess potential opportunities whether that be with partial investment or a full sale. Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and Juan Sartori bought into Sunderland when it was something of a distressed asset, spotting that its potential and facilities offered potential future reward if managed well. That is exactly how it has played out. It’s not known exactly how much Louis-Dreyfus paid to become the club’s majority shareholder, but most insiders believe that with the club projecting revenues not far off £200 million by the end of next season, he would be well placed to potentially make 10x his investment through a sale. It’s why there’s an oft-used cliché in football that every club is for sale: at these numbers who wouldn’t consider it?

Sunderland is also a very attractive proposition for potential investors at this moment of its development. It has excellent infrastructure and facilities already in place, plus real assets within the playing squad. Crucially, it remains at this stage relatively lean in staffing and costs for a top-tier club. Its debt position is reasonable though significant – the most recent accounts showed an internal debt of £19,820,000 to Louis-Dreyfus and Sartori. In previous years the ownership group pledged to convert this debt to equity at some stage, though this is yet to occur. There is also an external debt of £25,216,788 to Akira BV, a company with close links to the Louis-Dreyfus family. These are significant figures to factor into any potential sale, but most certainly not insurmountable ones at this level.

It seems fair to conclude that two things may well be true at once here. One is that Sunderland’s ownership group are taking stock of their options at an early but very obvious peak of their tenure in terms of the club’s current strength on and off the pitch. As such, supporters may have to get used to more headlines in the coming months and year or so. Equally, there is no reason at this stage to think that process will offer any threat or impediment to the next phase of the club’s development in the Premier League. On a day-to-day basis, this is a club and ownership group that believes it is back where it belongs and determined to maximise the potential of the moment.