The 2025–26 season was the 147th season in the history of Sunderland Association Football Club, and the club's first season back in the Premier League since the 2016–17 campaign, following promotion from the Championship in the preceding season. In addition to the domestic league, the club also participated in the FA Cup and the EFL Cup.
Sunderland placed 7th in the Premier League, their domestic league performance granting them a place in the 2026–27 UEFA Europa League, their first qualification for European football since 1973.
Squad
No. Player Position Nationality Date of birth (age) Previous club Contract end Goalkeepers 1 Anthony Patterson GK Academy 30 June 2028 21 Simon Moore GK Coventry City 30 June 2026 22 Robin Roefs GK NEC Nijmegen 30 June 2030 Defenders 3 Dennis Cirkin LB Tottenham Hotspur 30 June 2026 5 Daniel Ballard CB Arsenal 30 June 2028 6 Lutsharel Geertruida RB RB Leipzig 30 June 2026 (loan) 13 Luke O'Nien CB Wycombe Wanderers 30 June 2027 15 Omar Alderete CB Getafe 30 June 2029 17 Reinildo Mandava LB Atlético Madrid 30 June 2027 20 Nordi Mukiele RB Paris Saint-Germain 30 June 2029 26 Arthur Masuaku LB Beşiktaş 30 June 2027 32 Trai Hume RB Linfield 30 June 2030 33 Leo Hjelde CB Leeds United 30 June 2028 41 Zak Johnson CB Academy 30 June 2026 42 Aji Alese CB West Ham United 30 June 2027 Midfielders 4 Dan Neil CM Academy 30 June 2026 11 Chris Rigg AM Academy 30 June 2030 19 Habib Diarra CM Strasbourg 30 June 2030 27 Noah Sadiki DM Union Saint-Gilloise 30 June 2030 28 Enzo Le Fée CM Roma 30 June 2029 34 Granit Xhaka (c) DM Bayer Leverkusen 30 June 2028 50 Harrison Jones AM Academy 30 June 2026 Forwards 7 Chemsdine Talbi RW Club Brugge 30 June 2030 9 Brian Brobbey ST Ajax 30 June 2030 12 Eliezer Mayenda ST Sochaux 30 June 2030 14 Romaine Mundle LW Standard Liège 30 June 2028 18 Wilson Isidor ST Zenit Saint Petersburg 30 June 2028 24 Simon Adingra LW Brighton & Hove Albion 30 June 2030 25 Bertrand Traoré RW Ajax 30 June 2026 29 Ahmed Abdullahi ST Gent 30 June 2028 37 Jocelin Ta Bi RW Maccabi Netanya 30 June 2030 Out on loan 2 Niall Huggins RB Leeds United 30 June 2026 23 Jenson Seelt CB PSV Eindhoven 30 June 2028 8 Alan Browne CM Preston North End 30 June 2027 30 Milan Aleksić AM Radnički 1923 30 June 2028 10 Patrick Roberts RW Manchester City 30 June 2026 47 Trey Samuel-Ogunsuyi ST Academy 30 June 2028 Recalled from loan 9 Marc Guiu ST Chelsea 30 June 2026 (loan)
Transfers In DatePos.PlayerFromFeeRef. 1 July 2025 CM Enzo Le Fée Roma £19,300,000 1 July 2025CM Habib Diarra Strasbourg£30,000,0002 July 2025CM Matthew Burns ColeraineUndisclosed 4 July 2025 CM Noah Sadiki Union Saint-Gilloise £17,500,000 8 July 2025 LB Reinildo Mandava Atlético Madrid Free 9 July 2025 RW Chemsdine Talbi Club Brugge £19,500,000 10 July 2025 LW Simon Adingra Brighton & Hove Albion £21,000,000 19 July 2025 GK Isaac Allan Lincoln City Free 30 July 2025 CM Granit Xhaka Bayer Leverkusen £17,300,000 1 August 2025 GK Robin Roefs NEC Nijmegen £11,500,000 10 August 2025 LB Arthur Masuaku Beşiktaş Free 12 August 2025 CB Omar Alderete Getafe £10,400,000 17 August 2025 RB Nordi Mukiele Paris Saint-Germain £12,000,000 1 September 2025 ST Brian Brobbey Ajax £21,300,000 1 September 2025 RW Bertrand Traoré Ajax £2,500,000 16 January 2026 RW Jocelin Ta Bi Maccabi Netanya £3,500,000 1 February 2026 GK Melker Ellborg Malmö FF £3,000,000 2 February 2026 LW Nilson Angulo Anderlecht £15,000,000 Expenditure: £203,800,000
Out DatePos.PlayerToFeeRef. 1 June 2025 LW Tom Watson Brighton & Hove Albion £11,000,000 10 June 2025 CM Jobe Bellingham Borussia Dortmund £32,000,000 1 July 2025 GK Nathan Bishop AFC Wimbledon Undisclosed 14 August 2025 DM Pierre Ekwah Saint-Étienne £6,000,000 22 August 2025 CB Nectarios Triantis Minnesota United £2,200,000 9 January 2026 CM Jay Matete Milton Keynes Dons Undisclosed 13 January 2026 CM Ben Middlemas Swindon Town 15 January 2026 CB Joe Anderson Barrow 17 January 2026 GK Blondy Nna Noukeu Boulogne 2 February 2026 AM Adil Aouchiche Schalke 04 Undisclosed RW Patrick Roberts Birmingham City Undisclosed 3 March 2026AM Ian Poveda Internacional de BogotáUndisclosed Income £51,200,000 (not inc. undisclosed transfers)
Loans in DatePos.PlayerFromDate untilRef. 6 August 2025 ST Marc Guiu Chelsea 1 September 2025 1 September 2025 RB Lutsharel Geertruida RB Leipzig 30 June 2026
Loans out DatePos.PlayerToDate untilRef. 6 July 2025 AM Adil Aouchiche Aberdeen 2 February 2026 24 July 2025 GK Matty Young Salford City 31 May 2026 13 August 2025 RB Tom Lavery Cliftonville 6 January 2026 15 August 2025 LW Rhys Walsh South Shields 12 September 2025 19 August 2025 GK Dan Cameron Hebburn Town 16 September 2025 27 August 2025 ST Luís Semedo Moreirense 31 May 2026 30 August 2025 ST Trey Samuel-Ogunsuyi Falkirk 6 January 2026 1 September 2025 LB Oliver Bainbridge South Shields 31 May 2026 CM Alan Browne Middlesbrough 31 May 2026 RB Niall Huggins Wycombe Wanderers RW Patrick Roberts Birmingham City 2 February 2026 CB Jenson Seelt VfL Wolfsburg 31 May 2026 2 September 2025 ST Nazariy Rusyn Arka Gdynia 5 September 2025 CM Milan Aleksić Cracovia 25 January 2026 28 November 2025 CB Zak Johnson York City 31 May 2026 6 January 2026 RB Timothée Pembélé Le Havre 31 May 2026 9 January 2026 ST Trey Samuel-Ogunsuyi Shrewsbury Town ST Jake Waters Spennymoor Town 7 February 2026 16 January 2026 LW Timur Tutierov Exeter City 31 May 2026 23 January 2026 GK Isaac Allan Whitby Town 3 March 2026 RB Tom Lavery FC Halifax Town 31 May 2026 RW Ethan Moore Gateshead 27 January 2026 LB Arthur Masuaku Lens 27 January 2026 CM Dan Neil Ipswich Town 29 January 2026 CB Aji Alese Portsmouth 1 February 2026 GK Anthony Patterson Millwall 2 February 2026 LW Simon Adingra Monaco 31 May 2026 CB Leo Hjelde Sheffield United 31 May 2026 3 March 2026 GK Isaac Allan Hebburn Town GK Dan Cameron Boston United ST Jake Waters Hebburn Town
Released / Out of contract DatePos.PlayerSubsequent clubJoin dateRef.30 June 2025 GK Kelechi Chibueze Retired RW Aaron Chungh Morpeth Town 19 August 2025 CB Ben Crompton Ross County 1 July 2025 AM Caden Kelly South Shields 1 July 2025 CM Cuba Mitchell Bashundhara Kings 28 July 2025 CB Daniel Parker
New contracts DatePos.PlayerContract expiryRef.First team 7 August 2025 ST Eliezer Mayenda 30 June 2030 13 August 2025 RB Trai Hume 30 June 2030 14 August 2025 CB Luke O'Nien 30 June 2027 28 August 2025 AM Chris Rigg 30 June 2030 1 March 2026 CB Daniel Ballard 30 June 2029 Academy 7 July 2025 CM Jaydon Jones Undisclosed 7 July 2025 AM Jack Whittaker Undisclosed 8 July 2025 CB Ben Kindon Undisclosed 8 July 2025 GK Ben Metcalf Undisclosed 13 August 2025 ST Trey Samuel-Ogunsuyi 30 June 2028 21 May 2026 GK Matty Young 30 June 2030
Pre-season and friendlies On 7 June, Sunderland announced their initial pre-season schedule, with matches against Gateshead, South Shields, Heart of Midlothian, Hull City and Real Betis. A training camp in Algarve was confirmed along with a friendlies against Sporting CP and Sevilla. The final two fixtures of Sunderland's pre-season schedule are against FC Augsburg and Rayo Vallecano.
Competitions Overall record
Premier League
League table
Results summary
Results by round
Matches The league fixtures were released on 18 June 2025.
FA Cup
As a Premier League side, Sunderland entered the FA Cup in the third round, and were drawn away to Premier League club Everton. They were then drawn away to Oxford United in the fourth round, and away to Port Vale in the fifth round.
EFL Cup
As one of the Premier League clubs not participating in European competitions, Sunderland entered the EFL Cup in the second round, and were drawn at home to League One side Huddersfield Town.
Statistics Appearances and goals Players with no appearances are not included on the list, italics indicate a loaned in player
|colspan="12"|Player(s) who featured but departed the club on loan during the season:
|colspan="12"|Player(s) who featured whilst on loan but returned to parent club during the season:
|colspan="12"|Player(s) who featured but departed the club permanently during the season:
Disciplinary record
Rank Player Premier League FA Cup EFL Cup Total 1 27 MF Noah Sadiki 9 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 11 0 0 32 DF Trai Hume 9 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 11 0 0 3 17 DF Reinildo Mandava 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0 1 4 34 MF Granit Xhaka 8 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 9 0 0 5 5 DF Daniel Ballard 4 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 16 9 FW Brian Brobbey 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 15 DF Omar Alderete 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 19 MF Habib Diarra 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 20 DF Nordi Mukiele 5 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 28 MF Enzo Le Fée 5 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 11 13 DF Luke O'Nien 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 12 22 GK Robin Roefs 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 13 18 FW Wilson Isidor 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 014 3 DF Dennis Cirkin 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 6 DF Lutsharel Geertruida 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 24 FW Simon Adingra 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 26 DF Arthur Masuaku 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 018 4 DF Dan Neil 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 10 FW Nilson Angulo 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 11 MF Chris Rigg 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 14 FW Romaine Mundle 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 25 FW Bertrand Traoré 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 31 GK Melker Ellborg 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 Total 83 0 3 11 0 0 2 0 0 96 0 3
Notes
References