Probably wouldn’t have bought’ – Kyril Louis-Dreyfus explains how Covid impacted decision to buy Sunderland
Probably wouldn’t have bought’ – Kyril Louis-Dreyfus explains how Covid impacted decision to buy Sunderland.
Sunderland owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus has been discussing his decision to buy the club.
Sunderland owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus has revealed the unexpected influence of the Covid-19 pandemic in his choice to buy the club.
The 27-year-old took over at the Stadium of Light while the Black Cats were still trying to get out of League One, but he has overseen a dramatic turnaround in fortunes.
Last season’s spectacular promotion through the Championship play-offs was quickly followed by a stunning start to the current season, with the team sitting fourth in the Premier League table at the time of writing.
However, in a recent interview, Louis-Dreyfus joked that if the epidemic hadn’t prevented him from visiting Sunderland before deciding to invest in the club, he might have moved on and sought elsewhere
What has Kyril Louis-Dreyfus said about his decision to buy Sunderland?
According to French Football Weekly, the Black Cats’ manager stated: “Maybe it’s my experience as part of a club-owning family in France.
In 2016, we even witnessed the beginning of structural issues with TV rights, etc. I had always wanted to visit England because I thought it had the best championship in the world.
During Covid, an unexpected chance presented itself, and I seized it without hesitation. Covid made it impossible to visit the club.
If I had gone to a League One match, I probably wouldn’t have bought at the end since it was still a shock to go from Olympique de Marseille, who were playing the biggest games in Ligue 1, to a stadium of 1,000 people with a pitch that wasn’t in great shape.”
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What has Kyril Louis-Dreyfus said about Sunderland’s January transfer plans following positive start to new Premier League season?
During a recent appearance on Sky Sports, when asked if he was surprised by Sunderland’s start to the new season, Louis-Dreyfis responded:
“To be honest, we got promoted into a new league, our starting XI is almost entirely made up of new players, so we didn’t really know what to expect coming into the season, but to be honest, we’ve been very pleased with the start we’ve made, especially with the team.
For us, the most important thing is that the team reflects the community and the club’s ideals, and we believe that, regardless of the wins or defeats we’ve had this year, the squad has made us proud, which is the most important thing.
Turning his attention to transfers, he continued: “I believe the statistics informed us that unless you do something remarkable, you’re likely to return to the Championship.
For us, we didn’t really set a budget in terms of how much money we wanted to spend – we had an ambition to try and bring in the players we wanted, and fortunately, many of the deals we wanted to do were able to be completed, so the final spend was large, but most importantly, we got the players we wanted.
“I would say probably a little bit [that Sunderland’s fantastic start could impact their approach in January] because clearly whether we’re in the bottom three by Christmas or in the top six by Christmas, the aim changes a little bit.
We’re now planning for all situations, but we’ve been doing so since the summer, so hopefully we’ll be entering the January window with a top 10 finish in mind, and we’ll plan and execute the transfer window to give us the greatest chance.” Your next Sunderland read:
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