Kyril Louis-Dreyfus reveals what excited him about Sunderland after sealing takeover deal

The 23-year-old is the new chairman and majority shareholder at Sunderland after agreeing a deal to take charge from Stewart Donald, Charlie Methven and Juan Sartori, who bought the club from Ellis Short in 2018.

Donald, Methven and Sartori retain a minor stakehold in the club but are no longer directors.

In his first interview since taking charge Louis-Dreyfus spoke of the need to rebuild the club, with Sunderland battling for promotion from League One at the third time of asking.

Louis-Dreyfus didn’t name any names in his interview but Sunderland fans have long since complained about the cost-cutting of the previous regime with a number of younger players sold from the academy.

He said he was ‘very excited and proud’ to be associated with Sunderland and was keen to get started with his rebuilding project, something which he has been quick to do in recent days.

Louis-Dreyfus said: “It is a fresh start for the club, it has been many years now where the club had no real long-term vision and also cost-cutting at its forefront which basically led to an asset stripping in almost all departments at the club, which requires rebuilding from the start.

“It will be a long-term plan, hopefully we can take it forward together and bring better times for the club.”

He added: “The takeover has taken much longer than we all expected it to have, I am very thankful to the supporters and the staff for the patience they have shown, it took longer than we expected.

“I have obviously had a lot of thoughts going forward over the last few months, what we want to achieve and how we want to get sustainability and success.

“I think it all comes down to having a long-term vision, which we have now begun with the appointment of Kristjaan Speakman, Steve Davison and Lee Johnson which I believe will play a key role in us going forward.”

The new chairman has already made his presence felt in the appointments of Sporting Director Kristjaan Speakman and Chief Operating Officer Steve Davison.

Speakman was the key figure in the selection of Lee Johnson as head coach and yesterday announced the outcome of his initial assessment of the club’s academy structure.

Head of Coaching Lewis Dickman has been appointed as the new Academy Manager, with Stuart English arriving from Birmingham City to take up his previous role.

Leann Cowperthwaite has been appointed Head of Academy Operations.

Meanwhile, earlier today, Louis-Drefyus moved to appoint two close allies as directors at Sunderland AFC.

In a number of significant updates posted at Companies House, it was also confirmed that neither Stewart Donald nor Juan Sartori remain as directors at the club.

Both have retained a minority shareholding in the club alongside Charlie Methven as a result of the deal that has seen Louis-Dreyfus become controlling shareholder and Chairman.

This move nevertheless reflects the limited influence they are now set to exert over club affairs moving forward.

Louis-Dreyfus has unsurprisingly been installed as a director, as have Igor Levin and Patrick Julien Treuer. Both have close connections to Louis-Dreyfus.

Levin is a legal representative of the Louis-Dreyfus family.

Treuer, meanwhile, is the CFO of the Louis Dreyfus company.

The updates have also confirmed the departure of CEO Jim Rodwell, as announced by the club last week.

A message from the Football Clubs Editor

Our aim is to provide you with the best, most up-to-date and most informative Sunderland AFC coverage 365 days a year.

This depth of coverage costs, so to help us maintain the high-quality reporting that you are used to, please consider taking out a subscription to our new sports-only package here.

Your support is much appreciated. Richard Mennear, Football Clubs Editor