Will Sunderland and the newly promoted teams fare better than this season’s instant returns?

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Away from the watering eyes of their jubilant public, in the bowels of Wembley Stadium as Saturday afternoon became Saturday night, the victorious players of Sunderland walked back and forth in a state of bliss, shook hands, patted backs and roared approval.

The latest of late semi-final goals from Dan Ballard that had brought Sunderland here had been replicated thrillingly, dramatically — devastatingly for Sheffield United — by Tommy Watson five minutes into added time.

From 1-0 down with 15 minutes to go, Sunderland had won 2-1. From disbelieving to half-believing to sudden full belief, the fans and squad erupted. Sunderland, 16th in the Championship last season, in League One in 2022, had hauled themselves back into the Premier League after eight years away.

Eliezer Mayenda, who scored the crucial equaliser with a snapped finish, gripped the play-off winners’ trophy like it was a religious artefact. Trai Hume strode past with a giant beatbox pumping out Oasis’ Wonderwall. Luke O’Nien, arm in a sling and “morphined up” following his early injury, was still in his kit as 7.45pm approached and the team bus prepared to leave for an all-staff, all-night party in west London.

Sporting director Kristjaan Speakman wore a Jobe Bellingham tracksuit top.

Bellingham revels in Sunderland’s promotion (Alex Dodd – CameraSport via Getty Images)

There were countless other happy scenes — club hero Niall Quinn popped by, beaming — as goalkeeper Anthony Patterson said he could not really recall his superb second-minute save from Kieffer Moore until his colleagues started telling him about it in the dressing room. “It’s lively in there,” Patterson said, deadpan.

Having turned 25 a fortnight ago, Patterson has over 150 league games for Sunderland and chose the right occasion to make his most telling contribution of the season. Patterson made two saves that prevented the Blades from taking a two-goal lead that would have felt irretrievable.

Bellingham, too, delivered his best performance in the biggest moment, seizing the second half and driving Sunderland towards their fans at that end of Wembley. He was aided by Enzo Le Fee dropping back and by the introduction of Patrick Roberts, whose dagger skills on the right wing altered the game’s momentum.

Roberts spoke of collective “resilience”, Patterson of “togetherness” and Watson said he might have “a drop of ale”.

But it will be Watson’s last as a Sunderland player. The jarring reality for clubs promoted from the Championship, particularly those who go up via the play-off final with June around the corner, is that even in their hour of happiness, Premier League scrutiny arrives like a knock on the door.

Watson celebrates his winning goal (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Watson turned 19 last month and the week before his birthday was announced as a Brighton player next season. There is an initial £10million ($13.5m) fee. For that, some Sunderland fans booed the teenager — a less publicised version of the Trent Alexander-Arnold situation — but the club persevered with their homegrown talent. Watson said there have been “some really tough moments” since it became clear he would be departing Wearside for Brighton. He leaves two younger brothers in the Sunderland academy.

“I’m a Sunderland player today and I should think I’ll be a legend at the club after that,” he smiled, when informed his goal could mean as much as £200million to the club. Watson goes to the Under-19 Euros with England this summer.

His position in the team was not established, but Watson’s sale may be the first of a few. Not many at Sunderland expect Bellingham to remain, although the suitors in Serie A, as well as in England and the Bundesliga, will have to find £20-25million to secure the 19 year-old’s signature. There will be takers for Chris Rigg, 17, who started at Wembley, while Patterson, captain Dan Neil and left-back Dennis Cirkin all have admirers.

Regis Le Bris, bolder than usual with his substitutions, may have some, too. Can the club stay up, he was asked. “I hope so,” he replied.

Sunderland’s increased financial strength should enable the club to be more persuasive contractually. They have already demonstrated some greater economic ambition than previously in their rise from League One under the majority shareholding of young Kyril Louis-Dreyfus — Le Fee’s loan transfer from Roma became permanent on promotion. The fee is an initial £16m, a club record.

Le Fee (left) is joining for a club-record fee from Roma (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

But there were times in the first half, as Sunderland looked inferior to Sheffield United, when it seemed Brentford would eat them up in the Premier League, never mind Liverpool. Inevitably there will be calls externally for a rake of signings. Whether the same will be said internally is another matter. There is little sense a spree is coming. The example of Ipswich Town last summer and this season will be assessed. Ipswich spent over £100m but still went down with only four wins and 36 goals to show for it.

Southampton, last season’s play-off winners, fared even worse. The third promoted club in 2023-24, Leicester City, are also going straight back down. It means that for the second consecutive Premier League season all three promoted clubs have been relegated.

The expectation will be that Leeds United, Burnley and Sunderland will add to this new pattern as the Premier League middle-class — clubs such as Brentford, Bournemouth and Brighton — are buttressed year on year by huge revenues. The growing gap to them is seen in declining points totals for the promoted clubs. Even Luton Town, who made a spirited effort to stay up last season, only managed 26 points.

They were six shy of fourth-bottom Nottingham Forest, though only because Forest were deducted four points.

Luton utilised their unique home, Kenilworth Road, to at least unnerve the elite and Leeds will bring Elland Road back with them next season. It is vital they use its hostility. Burnley return to the top flight with a formidable defensive record that saw Scott Parker’s side concede only 16 goals in 46 Championship matches, but tightness in the Premier League will be a different test altogether. The Clarets conceded 78 the last time they were there.

Vincent Kompany and Burnley’s class of 2023-24 (Julian Finney/Getty Images)

In 2022-23 Bournemouth and Forest stayed up with goal differences of -34 and -30 respectively and neither scored more than a goal a game. Fulham did best and made a clever, relatively cheap £17m purchase in Joao Palhinha from Sporting Lisbon. Recruitment is key. So it can be done. But both Bournemouth and Forest have invested heavily since and are ‘Premier League-ready’, a phrase that was put to a couple of Sunderland players on Saturday.

Roberts, now 28 and one of the few with, albeit limited, Premier League experience, said “you have to ask them” when asked if Sunderland are ready to go, as a club anthem states. “When I came here (January 2022) it was obviously a big, huge club. Everyone kept saying: ‘How are they in League One?’. But you’re in League One for a reason. The task was to get out of it.”

Roberts was one of six Sunderland players on the Wembley pitch who have made that journey the whole way — reminiscent of Ipswich. O’Nien is another and, nodding to his damaged shoulder, said he would give everything to stay in the Premier League — “I’ll give my arms, my knees, my head.”

The 49,000 who will pack the Stadium of Light having walked across the new £30m footbridge, close to completion, from the city centre to the ground will relish that attitude. Sunderland brought noise and colour to Wembley. They will bring it to the Premier League, too.

(Top photo: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

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