Sevilla vs Sunderland
Premier League newcomers Sunderland are in warm-weather training in preparation for their return to the English top-flight, and the Club Friendly between Sevilla and Sunderland is the first chance for the Black Cats to see how they compare in the world of elite football.
They could hardly have picked a hotter place to test themselves as they head to the Algarve in Portugal, where they will play a double header, firstly against La Liga side Sevilla and then against Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon.
The Algarve is a popular holiday destination for golfers and beach lovers, but Sevilla and Sunderland are there to put in some hard work, and both have plenty on their plates before the new campaign begins.
Talking Points
Can Almeyda sort Seville?
After a 17th placed finish in the Primera Division last term, Sevilla moved to make yet another change in the dugout. And in the biggest Club Friendly 2025 news to emerge from Andalucia this summer, they appointed Argentine manager Matias Almeyda following the departure of Xavier Garcia. In his last role at AEK Athens, he led the Greek side to its first domestic league and cup double since 1978, and Sevilla fans hope he can restore some pride to their team.
Remarkably, Almeyda is the club’s eighth manager in three seasons, which reflects the turmoil in Seville, with the memory of five Europa League triumphs in a sparkling decade up to 2023 beginning to seem distant. It appears the board wants to instill some passion and discipline into the squad with this appointment.
Almeyda’s approach is said to be heavily influenced by his former manager and countryman Marcelo Bielsa, with a high-intensity, attacking style of play, and he also incorporates a Japanese Samurai code of conduct in his coaching, with a heavy emphasis on courage, respect, honesty, duty, and loyalty.
As a player, Almeyda was a tenacious defensive midfielder, a terrier with stamina and a superb work-rate and tough tackling, earning him the nickname “The Little Tractor”. And his new bosses hope he can instill those qualities in his new team.
Two players are back from loan spells. Striker Rafa Mir is back from Valencia and winger Adnan Januzaj has returned from Las Palmas, and it will be interesting to see how quickly Almeyda can get a tune out of these and others.
Bellingham departure prompts a Sunderland spending spree
As my SBOTOP colleague Jordan writes, Sunderland were on a bad run before they beat Sheffield United in the play-off final, but they pulled off the win, which stunned the Blades, who had expected to earn automatic promotion until they too suffered a run of losses to leave Leeds United and Burnley to head off into the distance.
It was an unexpected promotion for the Black Cats, but they started the season with a superb run of wins, and that was enough to carry them through to the play-offs. Under head coach Regie Le Bris, Sunderland played attractive, fast-passing football. But much of the play went through Jobe Bellingham, who starred for Borussia Dortmund at the Club World Cup after switching to the Bundesliga side immediately after the end of the season, following in the footsteps of his older brother, Jude.
After guiding the team to an impressive fourth-placed finish, Le Bris has been backed by his board of directors who have sanctioned a €100 million spending spree, which they hope will help their manager defy the odds that predict the Black Cats to finish bottom.
21-year-old midfielder Habib Diarra has arrived in a £30 million switch from Strasbourg, while Ivorian winger Simon Adingra has moved from Brighton for £20 million, the same as the fee to make another winger,
Enzo Le Fe’s loan move from Roma is permanent. The 25-year-old played 15 games for the Black Cats following his arrival in January, scoring one goal, and the mandatory option to buy at £20 million was triggered on promotion.
Defensive midfielder Noah Sadiki has arrived in a £17.5 million move from Union Saint-Gilloise, while another young winger, Chemsdine Talbi, has been transferred from another Belgian side Club Brugge for a cool £19 million. Except for Adingra, there is no Premier League experience among this young group, and that will be a huge challenge for Le Bris when he starts life in the toughest league in the world.
The Black Cats had a run out last week against National League North side South Shields, winning 4-0 as Wilson Isidor, another star of Sunderland’s 2024-25 promotion, opened the scoring. And the Club Friendly 2025 odds know it’s on to a tougher test for Sunderland in a hotter country, where Le Bris will learn a whole lot more.
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