Sunderland enjoyed an excellent 2022/23 campaign in the Championship as they narrowly missed out on making the play-off final in a semi-final defeat to Luton Town.
The Hatters went on to beat Coventry to secure promotion to the Premier League and the Black Cats will remain in the second tier next season but reaching the play-offs after being promoted from League One should be seen as a success.
It is an achievement that Tony Mowbray and Kristjaan Speakman must now build on this summer and they already have plenty of work to do as Amad Diallo and Edouard Michut have both returned to their parent clubs.
The latter has gone back to Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain and Speakman confirmed that all parties have agreed to go their separate ways.
Who could replace Edouard Michut at Sunderland?
Mowbray could find the dream replacement for the French central midfielder by completing a swoop to sign Ethan Galbraith from Manchester United in the upcoming transfer window.
The Black Cats are reportedly set to battle it out with fellow Championship side Middlesbrough to secure a deal for the Northern Ireland international. He is set to be a free agent as the Red Devils have decided not to offer him a new contract at Old Trafford, which would allow Sunderland to snap him up for nothing.
Galbraith has endured a difficult spell with Salford this term but caught the eye with his performances for Doncaster on loan in League One last season. The ace averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.78 and made 2.1 tackles and interceptions per match, which shows that the battler is a combative midfielder who puts his foot in to win the ball back for his side.
Michut, meanwhile, averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.64 in the Championship and made 2.1 tackles and interceptions per game for Sunderland.
These statistics suggest that both players offer a similar level of protection in front of the back four as they are both able to win the ball back multiple times during games and have not been defensive liabilities for their respective clubs.
However, Galbraith created 0.9 chances per outing for Doncaster in 21/22 and Michut only managed 0.2 per match in the second tier for Mowbray, which suggests that the Northern Irishman has the edge on him in possession due to his ability to open up the opposition's defence for his teammates.
Therefore, the pending free agent, who was described as a "little Iniesta" by his international boss Ian Baraclough, could be the dream replacement for the Frenchman as he could offer similar defensive qualities whilst also being able to provide more quality on the ball in the middle of the park if the gem can make the step up to the Championship.