Source of Sunderland’s success is obvious after Championship play-off triumph, they have done the ‘spectacular’

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Sunderland secured promotion back to the Premier League after beating Sheffield United in the Championship play-off final.

Sunderland beat Sheffield United 2-1 in the Championship play-off final to secure Premier League promotion after an eight-year absence.

Above the Black Cats, Leeds United and Burnley earned automatic promotion after their outstanding 100-point seasons.

Since owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus began his Wearside tenure, alongside sporting director Kristjaan Speakman, Sunderland have become well-respected in the English Football Leagues for their youth-first footballing philosophy.

Academy of Light graduates have been promoted to first-team regulars, and some stellar young talents have been scouted and signed for fees that pale in comparison to their potential.

As the red and white dust settles on the Wembley win, the catalyst for Sunderland’s success has become obvious, evidenced by their squad that secured top flight promotion this season.

• READ MORE: I was at Wembley to see Sunderland clinch dramatic Championship play-off final win, I’ll never forget the scenes

Source of Sunderland’s success in Championship play-off final win is obvious

Sunderland’s efforts to regain Premier League status culminated with the comeback victory over Sheffield United.

These efforts were miraculously performed not only by Regis Le Bris and his Black Cats squad, but also the club’s hierarchy, academy coaches and recruitment team over recent seasons.

For the third successive second tier season, Sunderland have boasted the youngest average starting XI in the division, amounting to an average of 23 years and 316 days old in this campaign.

Under the Wembley arch, three Academy of Light graduates not only made Sunderland history by cementing themselves as club legends, but proved the club’s model of youthful exuberance correct.

Goalkeeper Anthony Patterson proved his doubters wrong with an inspired outing, with his man-of-the-match display keeping out Blades forward Kieffer Moore with one minute gone, and preventing Andre Brooks from doubling Sheffield United’s advantage minutes before Eliezer Mayenda’s equaliser.

Captain Dan Neil led the Black Cats team out onto the hallowed turf, seven years on from his senior Sunderland debut, to live the dream of his fellow boyhood club fans.

Fellow academy graduate, Brighton-bound Tommy Watson completed the perfect end to his Sunderland story by scoring the winner with a sumptuous strike in the 94th minute.

Man-of-the-match, skipper and match-winner, all Academy of Light graduates who went on to become Wembley heroes and send the Wearsiders back to the Premier League.

Academy product Chris Rigg also started the affair, after his stellar season at just 17-years-old, with fellow academy graduate Harrison Jones, an unused substitute on Saturday afternoon.

Sunderland’s youth-first footballing model, compared to that of Brentford and Brighton, has come under scrutiny from supporters, given the club finished 16th in the second tier last season.

However, the play-off final victory has proven that sporting director Speakman’s claims are true.

• READ MORE: Sunderland fans will love Chris Wilder’s post-match VAR rant as Sheffield United ‘punished’ in play-off final

Sunderland sporting director’s ‘spectacular’ claim proven true

Sunderland’s sporting director Speakman spent ten years as Birmingham City academy manager before making the move to Wearside in late 2020.

During his tenure, Sunderland have signed the likes of Jobe Bellingham, Jack Clarke and Trai Hume for minimal fees whilst bedding in academy graduates such as Rigg and Watson into the first-team in the earliest stages of their professional careers.

The Championship is notoriously a difficult league to play in, never mind earn promotion from, made even harder by boasting the youngest squad in the division.

Yet, the Black Cats have proven the naysayers wrong, and done the “spectacular” in the words of Speakman.

As per the BBC ahead of the play-off final, he said: “The journey over the last five years has been a difficult one. It hasn’t been linear in terms of how our progress has gone.

“We’ve lived and breathed what we feel our strategy should be and some of those really important principles.

“One of those is the integration of young players. So if we are able to win, it would be a spectacular moment.”

Securing Premier League promotion, with the youngest squad in the English Football League, without the benefit of parachute payments, is certainly nothing short of spectacular.