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Grading Sunderland’s 25/26 Recruitment, Part One!
Grading Sunderland’s 25/26 Recruitment, Part One!
If Peter Reid opted to think outside of the box when he snapped up Thomas Sorensen in 1998 and Roy Keane made a statement of intent when he brought Scottish international Craig Gordon south from Tynecastle in 2007, one wonders just what kind of witchcraft was at play when we signed the commanding Dutchman from NEC Nijmegen after a summer chase that involved such names as Marcin Bułka and Djordje Petrovic.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSimply put, the £12 million we shelled out for Roefs has proven to be one of the most agreeable fees we’ve spent on any player in recent times, with the young stopper fitting in seamlessly, bringing a calm sense of authority to a key position and showing Premier League potential and ability in spades.
During his early months in particular, he collected crosses like football enthusiasts snap up Panini stickers, prowling around his penalty area with menace and standing up to whatever opponents could throw at him —and his vocal nature is in stark contrast to the quieter and less authoritative style of Anthony Patterson.
By no means the finished article, Roefs has nevertheless been an utterly inspired purchase — his point-blank stop from Jake O’Brien at the Hill Dickinson proving vital in the chase for continental football — and let’s hope we can keep him on Wearside for one more season at least.
A goalkeeper of such talent deserves a European campaign to sit alongside what’ll hopefully be another influential season at domestic level. A real find.
The highly-rated Swedish prospect and Max Verstappen lookalike arrived in January and to say that he experienced a memorable introduction to life on Wearside is to downplay it somewhat.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementA clean sheet at Elland Road sat alongside an embarrassing defeat to Port Vale in the FA Cup — during which the greatest Sunderland own goal of all time was almost scored — as well as a tough twenty minutes against Newcastle (from which he recovered admirably to play a part in a famous victory) and a frustrating home loss to Brighton.
However, he showed enormous strength of character and ought to be a more than capable deputy for Roefs next season — the Sunderland goalkeeping ranks looking increasingly strong with Matty Young’s development catching the eye as well.
Lots of promise and plenty to like!
For some, playing football professionally seems to be more than just an occupation.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementInstead, it seems to be their outlet, their way of spreading happiness to others and showing you can be a classy and throughly likeable individual as well as a fearsome competitor on the pitch.
So, enter Reinildo Mandava, the first Mozambican to play in the Premier League and a former Diego Simeone foot soldier with over one hundred appearances in the red and white of Atlético Madrid — which probably should’ve given us some idea of what kind of player we were signing when he joined on a free transfer last summer.
Easily one of the most complete Sunderland left backs of the past thirty years and a great example of using the free agent market effectively as a newly-promoted club, Reinildo is a rock in defence and dangerous going forward, and his wholehearted approach is a perfect fit for this side.
A early-season red card against Aston Villa was frustrating, but he responded impressively and has established himself as our number one choice with room to spare.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAnother big season awaits during 2026/2027 — and he picks up a bonus mark for his loyalty to short-sleeved vest tops in training and warm ups…come rain, shine or snow. Cold weather? ‘Our Rei’ simply laughs in the face of it!
A low-risk free transfer that (perhaps somewhat expectedly) didn’t work out as planned, with the experienced former West Ham defender barely featuring and looking off the pace and out of sorts when he did, before being moved on.
No harm done. One that didn’t come off. That’s the way it sometimes goes.
In my entirely imaginary and never-to-be-written book, How To Build Yourself A Competitive Premier League Side Following Promotion From The Championship, I devote an entire chapter to the importance of adding a slightly eccentric yet supremely talented and watchable South American firebrand to the squad, and Sunderland responded in kind when the Paraguayan international was signed from Getafe — to the dismay of his club president, who bemoaned the loss of such a brilliant player for what was, once again, an absolute snip of a fee.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementClassy, rugged, abrasive, generally defensively solid and never afraid to spray the ball about with confidence, Alderete is one hell of a defender and has made a huge impression during his maiden campaign in English football.
He loves to take the odd risk and to raise your heart rate as a supporter, but that’s part of his appeal — you can’t have the virtues without the vices — and I’d say his plus points outweigh the minuses on a colossal ratio.
Bring us more players of his ilk, please. It’s a market we should be tapping into on a more regular basis.
Sunderland’s four leading central defenders formed something of a ‘Holy Trinity’ during 2025/2026, with their qualities complimenting each other beautifully depending on who Régis Le Bris chose for any given game and their contributions going a long way towards securing a top seven finish.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAlderete is the most exuberant; Dan Ballard is all heart, physicality and commitment, Luke O’Nien is Luke O’Nien, and former PSG and Bayer Leverkusen defender Mukiele sits beautifully in the middle — the epitome of class, composure and confidence, and our defence always looks like a borderline watertight unit whenever he lines up at the heart of it.
Like Alderete, Mukiele is exceptionally composed on the ball and like the very best central defenders, his positional sense is second to none.
He scents danger, he reacts, and more often than not, he neutralises it before the alarm bells begin to ring. Of course, in keeping with the wider fortunes of the team, he went through a handful of chastening experiences along the way but like all elite operators, he always bounced back and showed his class in both victory and defeat — the mark of the man.
A superb signing and yet another rabbit pulled from Florent Ghisolfi’s velvet-trimmed top hat.
Hands up: a “B” grade might seem harsh but the only reason I’ve done that is because the versatile Dutch international wasn’t utilised as much as he might’ve been. Had the opposite been true and we’d had a larger sample size on which to judge, I’m convinced he would’ve nudged himself into an even higher bracket.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementI’m a massive fan of Geertruida and I would absolutely love to see him make his loan switch permanent.
He’s clearly a very, very capable operator at this level and his presence would give us vital depth during what’s sure to be a challenging season, but the fact that he often found himself utilised as a substitute as opposed to a starter showed just how competitive things have become, and just how high the water mark now is.
One to watch, perhaps, but if he moves on, it’ll be with a lot of credit in the bank. He was superb for us.