The £45m striker that will be Sunderland’s biggest signing of the summer - according to bold prediction
An AI prediction suggests that Sunderland could spend heavily on their attack in the summer transfer window...
Sunderland have enjoyed a remarkably successful first season back in the Premier League, thanks in no small part to a lively summer transfer window which has proven to have been among the top flight’s best – but will they be able to repeat the trick after the 2025/26 campaign draws to a close?
For all their progress under Régis Le Bris, there’s still a lot of work to be done before Sunderland can truly establish themselves as a team that can reliably stay well clear of the bottom three and even challenge for European qualification, with their attack in particular need of some extra quality. At the time of writing, only Nottingham Forest and relegation-bound Wolves have scored fewer goals.
So how will the Black Cats address that issue in the summer? We don’t have a crystal ball, but we can use the question as a chance to test out the latest AI algorithms’ powers of prediction – so we asked one popular AI to peer into the future to see if it could figure out who Sunderland’s biggest signing of the summer would be…
The £45m forward set to be Sunderland’s biggest summer signing – according to AI
We asked the AI algorithm in question to predict Sunderland’s single most expensive signing of the coming summer, and it spat out an answer that certainly makes plenty of sense on paper: Chelsea’s Liam Delap.
Apparently the Black Cats will spend up to £45m on signing the former England Under-21 striker, who impressed with Ipswich Town last season prior to their relegation but who has struggled to make the desired impact at Stamford Bridge, with injury issues hampering his efforts to carve out a role for himself at his new club.
Noting that “Sunderland's model favours high-potential, undervalued talents who can develop” – a solid comment given the signings of players like Noah Sadiki and Habib Diarra last season – the AI believes that Delap would offer a combination of quality in the penalty area and potential to be resold down the line at a profit, even if the proposed £45m deal is 50% more than Chelsea paid for him less than a year ago.
There have also been several recent stories in the gossip columns which speculate that mid-table Premier League sides like Sunderland, Bournemouth and Everton could be interested in Delap, and Chelsea are not noted as a team who try to hang on to players who don’t hit the ground running. Delap would be the latest in a long line of players whose stay at Stamford Bridge was brief under the current ownership.
On paper, then, this seems like a pretty plausible suggestion from the AI – but would Delap be the right signing for Sunderland if they do end up pursuing him in real life?
Why Liam Delap could be just what Sunderland need
While it’s fair to say that Delap’s debut season at Chelsea hasn’t gone precisely according to plan – he has managed just two goals in 26 appearances – he has been hobbled by hamstring and shoulder injuries and has spent much of his time at the club coming on from the bench.
He proved at Ipswich that he can be a potent finisher in the box, and much of his failure to kick on at Stamford Bridge may be attributed to the fact that his style of play – off the shoulder of the last man, using his pace – doesn’t necessarily suit Chelsea’s broader tactical set-up. That may be different at the Stadium of Light.
While Le Bris has been flexible with his tactics, he has broadly favoured a counter-attacking style since promotion and Delap’s ability to exploit space in behind defences could suit Sunderland well, and his talent is more or less undeniable.
£45m would represent a significant outlay, but it’s a par price for a striker who has a track record in the Premier League, not an overpay on paper, and should he recapture his best form then he would likely be valued more highly in the future.
This could easily be a smart move by Sunderland, and is the kind of deal which they should surely consider as they work to maintain their status as a serious Premier Legue side. Whether AI is proven right and it’s a move they actually make remains to be seen.