Exclusive: Sky Sports pundit drops clear Sunderland AFC, Premier League warning | OneFootball

Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman spoke exclusively to Football League World about Sunderland's bid for Premier League promotion

Sunderland will be hoping to successfully navigate their way through the Championship play-offs and end the club's seven-year Premier League absence after finishing the 2024/25 campaign in fourth place under Regis Le Bris.

The Black Cats spent the first-half of the season going neck-and-neck with the likes of Leeds United, Burnley and Sheffield United in the race for automatic promotion, but have lost their way in recent months.

A dramatic 2-1 defeat away at Leeds, in which both of the hosts' goals came from Pascal Struijk within the final 17 minutes as Sunderland surrendered a one-goal lead, all-but-ended the Black Cats' hopes of continuing to challenge for an unlikely top-two finish.

There is a notable deficit in quality between the top three teams and Sunderland, and then with the Black Cats for those contending for the final two play-off spots in Bristol City, Coventry, Millwall, Blackburn and Middlesbrough, meaning Le Bris' side have been nailed-on to finish the season in fourth for quite some time.

But there is tangible worry at the Stadium of Light ahead of the play-offs, where Sunderland were undone by Luton Town two seasons ago.

Sunderland's form since February has been marred by inconsistency, and a four-match losing run - including defeats to the Robins and Blackburn - going into the final day fixture at home to mid-table QPR has amplified concerns.

They have failed to head into the play-offs with real momentum behind them, which, as we have seen time and time again in years gone by, can make all the difference across three emotionally-charged encounters. As such, how the north-east side will fare in the play-offs is anyone's guess at this moment in time.

There are also concerns about how the Black Cats could fare in the Premier League next season, should they get there.

In the two most recent campaigns, every team to have gained promotion from the Championship - namely Burnley, Sheffield United and Luton Town and then Leicester City, Southampton and Ipswich Town last term - have all suffered relegation straight back down to the second-tier with a whimper, with the gap in both quality and financial muscle between the top two divisions bridging further apart year-on-year.

Don Goodman reveals potential Sunderland AFC, Premier League fear

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman explained how he does not believe Sunderland are ready for the Premier League quite just yet - although no team is upon promotion, by his own admission - and that both their promotion bid and ability to potentially compete in the top-flight next season does not look encouraging.

"I don't think I've seen a team that's ever ready for the Premier League if they get promoted from the Championship," Goodman told FLW.

"It all boils down to recruitment. Sunderland would need an enormous overhaul, of course they would, when you look at how they've struggled in the second-half of the season.

"There's a group of young, really talented players.

"There's no way that they would be able to compete on current terms, so it would depend on how much there is to spend and whether or not they get the recruitment right.

"As I've said, with every club that gets promoted, they're not ready right there and then. Even Burnley and Leeds from this season will need to spend a significant amount of money on the right players in order to compete.

"Sunderland have got to get there first and, at the moment, that's not looking amazing."

Sunderland AFC would receive big Jobe Bellingham boost if promoted

Promotion may be exactly what's needed for Sunderland to have any realistic designs on retaining the services of star man Jobe Bellingham this summer amid constant transfer interest over the last 12 months or so.

The 19-year-old has flourished over the last two seasons, though notably more so in the 24/25 campaign, after arriving from Birmingham City in the summer of 2023, prompting interest from leading domestic and continental suitors.

The likes of Borussia Dortmund, Manchester United and Real Madrid - for whom his elder brother stars, of course - have all been linked to Jobe's signature, and it's difficult to see him staying on Wearside if Sunderland are unable to offer top-flight football next season.

You get the impression that promotion could just encourage the midfield prodigy into committing to at least one more season with Sunderland, and how the next few weeks unfold could just dictate his immediate future.