Wise Men Say

Stephen, Eleanor and Jonathan share some preseason thoughts. We also checked in with Chris Barbour to get perspective on Marc Guiu who looks to be joining on loan from Chelsea.  

Stephen and Eleanor went and had a look round the Stadium of Light, where a lot of money has been invested into giving it some much needed TLC. And what a great job they've done! They caught up with Nick Barnes and Phil Smith about i, while also having the pleasure of interviewing Jimmy Montgomery.

Sunderland are signing a keeper. Football reporter Sander Janssen from Voetbal International tells Stephen all about Robin Roefs.

Stephen Goldsmith is joined by Rick, Eleanor and Jon as we react to the news that Granit Xhaka has signed for Sunderland from Bayer Leverkusen. There's a sentence we weren't expecting to write a year ago!

Mick and new(ish) WMS podder Jonathan are in an Edinburgh pub.Does a defeat here mean anything? Does it? If any team deserve some bigger-picture thinking on that front it's Sunderland after their form going into Wembley. Still some pretty shocking defending though.

Stephen Goldsmith is joined by Richard Easterbrook and WMS debutant Jonathan Ellenor to discuss Sunderland's first pre-season friendly of 25-26 and to chat about some players linked with making a move to Wearside imminently...

Stephen and Rick catch up with transfer guru Sacha Tavolieri to chat about Sunderland's movements in the European market, including the latest on Djordje Petrovic and Chemsdine Talbi as well as the lowdown on confirmed signings Habib Diarra and Noah Sadiki as we assess the almost-immediate impact of new director of football Florent Ghisolfi.

Stephen, Mick and Jim have a bit of a catchup on all of the recent activity. Sporting Directors, Assistant Coaches and players. Lots to chat about.

Stephen catches up with Cyril Olives from L'Equipe and Jeremy Beren from That Atleti Pod to talk about Habib Diarra and Reinildo Mandava respectively.