​LENS, FRANCE – AUGUST 8: Sunderland goalkeeper Robin Roefs #22 during the pre-season friendly football match between RC Lens (RCL) and Sunderland AFC at Stade Bollaert-Delelis on August 8, 2026 in Lens, France. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images) | Getty Images As we approach the final two weeks of the summer transfer window amid what seems to be a consensus that Sunderland do still need to be active in order to retrofit their playing squad to meet the demands of the 2026/2027 campaign, I’m intrigued on two fronts.First of all, I’ll be keeping a keen eye on whether we can add the quality and depth that’s most certainly needed in key positions. Also, and perhaps equally crucially, it’ll be fascinating to see if we can keep several of our most valuable players in the fold for what promises to be a historic campaign.Two lads in particular spring to mind here (and I’ve opted for Robin Roefs and Noah Sadiki), but in all honesty, there are several current Sunderland players that you could place in that bracket.Roefs arrived on Wearside last summer as a highly rated if somewhat unknown quantity, in what turned out to be an absolute bargain transfer from NEC Nijmegen.In the aftermath of Sunderland’s FA Cup victory over Everton and a succession of hugely impressive performances between the sticks during his maiden campaign in English football, I was absolutely convinced and had begun to accept that he would not be a Sunderland player for 2026/2027.So far, though? Absolutely nothing in the way of rumours or reported interest in the towering Dutch stopper.Massively heartening and I’d love to think I’ll be proven wrong and that we’ll get at least another season’s worth of top quality displays from the most talented Lads goalkeeper of his age since Thomas Sorensen.Similarly, after establishing himself as one of the batteries in the red and white midfield, it felt like it was only a matter of time before Sadiki — the kind of midfielder that elite Premier League clubs usually sign without a second thought — would be plying his trade elsewhere this season. Surely he was just too good for rival recruitment teams and head coaches to ignore?However, like Roefs, the likelihood of the DR Congo international remaining at the Stadium of Light and making the step up into the Europa League under the watchful eye of Régis Le Bris seems to be increasing — something about which everyone will doubtless feel excited.Although it’s possible for nerves to be a little frayed and patience in short supply when it comes to Sunderland’s lack of incoming transfers, the fact remains that should we lose no key players before the window closes — a group into which you can place the likes of Brian Brobbey, Omar Alderete, Nordi Mukiele, Enzo Le Fée and Chris Rigg — it would be significant.Keeping the core and the beating heart of this exciting squad together would at least mean that we don’t head into the 2026/2027 season in a weaker state, as well as