"Spend the Jack Clarke money" - January transfer plea made to Sunderland owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus | OneFootball

The Black Cats sit top of the table after the first nine Championship matches

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Sunderland have enjoyed a terrific start to the 24/25 Championship campaign, with the Black Cats sitting top of the tree during the current international break.

Regis Le Bris has led a turnaround in fortunes at the Stadium of Light since his arrival in the summer, with six wins from their opening nine league matches of the season seeing them amass 19 points so far.

The Mackems have had a period of sustained success since Kyril Louis-Dreyfus took over the club in February 2021, with a return to the second tier followed by a renewal of Premier League aspirations.

With that in mind, we spoke to Football League World’s Sunderland fan pundit Jack Austwicke about what he would like to see from the owners going forward, with the mood on Wearside as good as it has been in recent seasons.

Kyril Louis-Dreyfus urged to give Regis Le Bris funds to work with in January

While Sunderland have flown out the blocks so far, thoughts will turn to the previous campaign, where the Black Cats’ form in the second half of the season tailed off drastically.

Not helped by Tony Mowbray, Michael Beale and Mike Dodds all taking to the dugout at various points throughout the season, a run of just three wins in 14 matches after the turn of the year saw the club spiral into mid table mediocrity.

With Leo Hjelde, Romaine Mundle, and Callum Styles the only three first-team arrivals into the club during January, progress stalled in the North East, and Austwicke is keen to avoid a repeat of that situation this time around.

The Mackems fan pundit said: “I think it is pretty hard to critique our owner at the minute with the way things are going, we had a bad season last year, but it sort of felt like a sacrifice for this year.

“You have got to have a low point to have a high point - that’s how it works - and I think we are definitely heading in the right direction under our current ownership, I don’t think anyone can really argue with that since they have come in.

“Now we sit top of the Championship nine games in, but you don’t win anything in October, so hopefully we keep going.

“I think the demand is to kick on in January, spend the Jack Clarke money, and don’t waste this opportunity, because you don’t know how many chances you’re going to get to get back into the Premier League.”

Sunderland told to seize the opportunity after fast Championship start

With the likes of Chris Rigg and Jobe Bellingham calling the shots at the Stadium of Light, Le Bris has worked his magic to see Sunderland flying as high as they have been since dropping out of the Premier League seven years ago.

The Frenchman has overseen a superb start to the season, with eye-catching victories over Burnley and Middlesbrough showing they mean business, as well as a rather fortuitous 2-2 draw with Leeds United last time out.

With expectations rising rapidly on Wearside, Austwicke is keen for his club to make the most of the opportunity afforded to them this season, with the Championship season likely to be tighter than ever over the next few months.

He continued: “Anything can happen, so use this chance, and hopefully by Christmas we will be sitting pretty, still hopefully in the top two or the top six.

“Then you spend in January, make the most of this chance, and hopefully we can kick on.”