It's been quite the week for Sunderland supporters. The fixtures for the 2022/23 Championship campaign have been released, Charlie Methven sold his shares in the club and the Black Cats announced three new deals for Lynden Gooch, Anthony Patterson and Patrick Roberts.
The latter of the three may be their best business of the window to date after arriving on a short term deal in January with his career very much at a crossroads. The former Manchester City playmaker was unable to force his way into Pep Guardiola's first team plans and Roberts never quite had a consistent run of games, like he did at Celtic, on any of his loan prior. Football moves so fast that it's easy to forget Roberts was once tipped for great things.
He hasn't quite hit the heights he was once touted for, but at Sunderland he's got a platform to reignite his career. The six-month spell at the Stadium of Light was an impressive one, ending the campaign with one of his brightest displays in a red-and-white shirt under the Wembley arch.
READ MORE: Patrick Roberts first words after penning new Sunderland contract
Roberts was a constant thorn in Wycombe Wanderer's side during the play-off final and was unlucky not to win his side a penalty. It was a display that will no doubt have made the onlooking Sunderland hierarchy take note.
Last summer, the Wearsiders lost top goal scorer Charlie Wyke to Wigan Athletic and they could ill afford to lose Roberts in a similar fashion. It's unclear whether talks were held with other clubs, but his representatives believe Sunderland is the right place for him to flourish at this stage of his career.
The England youth international has not really had a place to call home, other than Glasgow Celtic, where his two and a half years were littered with trophies. His six month spell on Wearside has seen him add the League One play-off final to his CV and he'll be hoping there's more to follow.
Sunderland have been smart with their approach in maintaining the bulk of last season's squad, with Bailey Wright's future next on the agenda. Neil has a good core of players now and will be working alongside Kristjaan Speakman to bring in the right additions to lift the squad to the next level.
This summer will be the first real indication of how Kyril Louis-Dreyfus will approach life in the Championship. They've invested in a lot of young talents and used the loan market well in the past, but it's an unpredictable division at the best of times.
It's highly unlikely the Black Cats will splash millions on big money signings, but the Frenchman must back Neil in the transfer market.
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