Lee Johnson is the man in charge of Sunderland and he’s proving to be one of their most popular managers of the modern era.
The former Bristol City boss took over from Phil Parkinson earlier in the season. He’s rapidly modernised the face of this Sunderland side and things have only got better this month.
Kyril Louis-Dreyfus is the new owner of Sunderland fans have never been so excited for the future of their football club.
What’s more is that Johnson and Louis-Dreyfus seem a likely pairing – both have innovative ideas of how they want to run the football club with Louis-Dreyfus looking like he’s adopting a ‘date-driven’ strategy in terms of recruitment and development, which will compliment Johnson’s repertoire.
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As of the 2016/17 season, Bristol City recorded a total payer profit of £23.97million according to transfermarkt. Each and every season Johnson spent at the helm, players were brought in and sold off – most of them for much more than they were acquired for.
The 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons saw transfer profits of £17.42million and £14.21million respectively. Both seasons were bolstered by some big name player sales with the likes of academy graduates Bobby Reid, Joe Bryan and Lloyd Kelly departing.
Other names to be sold for profit were Adam Webster to Brighton in a deal that hit the £20million mark, as well as Josh Brownhill and Aden Flint before him.
Six names that make up the bulk of Johnson’s profits at Bristol City – half of them academy products and half of them brought in from rivalling EFL sides.
Youth promotion and development has long been on Johnson’s CV and he’s already showing signs of that at Sunderland with the likes of Jack Diamond and current Blackpool loanee Elliot Embleton continuing their progression, and on loan Wolves defender Dion Sanderson becoming a really tidy player too.
Of course though, Sunderland will have to wait a few seasons to start seeing the profits that Johnson delivered at Bristol City – his first season recorded a £1.46million upturn before recording a loss of £9.12million in his second season.
But Johnson’s specialities combined with Sunderland’s Academy of Light and their Category One Academy status, and Louis-Dreyfus’ newfound investment, it’s all adding up to make for a completely sustainable and revitalised Sunderland.
The aim for them now is to first make it into the Championship whilst starting the process of buying and selling, promoting youth into the first-team and selling for the right price, at the right time.
