What a difference a year makes. The news that Bailey Wright has signed a new two-year contract on Wearside means Sunderland are three-for-three - the trio of out-of-contract players offered new deals have all committed their futures to the club.
Academy graduate Lynden Gooch was first out of the traps when he signed a two-year deal in the middle of last week, with Patrick Roberts doing likewise last weekend having initially signed a short-term deal when he arrived from Manchester City in January, and after returning from international duty with Australia Wright has now signed up. Contrast that to the situation exactly 12 months ago, when Aiden McGeady was the only one of four players offered new terms to have re-signed for what, in his case, turned out to be a final hurrah.
Luke O'Nien followed suit in early July. But academy graduate Denver Hume hedged his bets until September before eventually signing the deal that had been left on the table, and it always felt like a shotgun marriage so it was no surprise when he was sold to Portsmouth in January having played only a handful of games in the first half of the season.
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As for the fourth member of the quartet, Charlie Wyke, after scoring 31 goals the previous season his stock was high so he refused a new deal and instead signed for Wigan Athletic. McGeady's farewell season was wrecked by the knee ligament injury he suffered in November, and he did not kick a ball in anger after that.
So, with Hume bailing out mid-season, O'Nien was the only one of the 2021 renewals who could be described as a success. Back to the present, there is a very different feeling in the air.
With Sunderland preparing to return to the Championship, players are keen to sign up to the project and all three renewals have been completed before the end of June. Sunderland approach the season in a positive mindset with fans squarely behind new head coach Alex Neil after he rescued a season that was in danger of petering out and turned it into a play-off winning campaign.
Around 30,000 season tickets have already been sold and there is a genuine belief that the club is at last heading in the right direction after four years in League One. But to make the transition, Sunderland need to bring in players this summer with Championship knowhow - and also to hold onto the ones they have already got.
Wright, Gooch, and Roberts all have experience of playing at that level and above - invaluable, given that the bulk of the squad inherited by Neil in February have never operated above the English third tier. Aside from the contract renewals, only Corry Evans, Danny Batth, and Alex Pritchard have meaningful experience in the Championship or above (O'Nien, Elliot Embleton, and Niall Huggins have all played above the third tier, but none has started a game and they have managed only 65 minutes between them in total).
Neil will need to bring in more players with such experience if Sunderland are to gain a foothold in the second tier next term, and the club's pursuit of Arsenal and Northern Ireland defender Daniel Ballard - who spent last season on loan in the Championship with Millwall - shows that that has been recognised by the club's recruitment team. Sunderland still have a lot of work to do to get this squad ready for the Championship, but with the contract renewals and Ballard's impending arrival, they have made a start.
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