Sunderland are in a difficult situation at the moment, but that isn't new to the club's supporters and Stewart Donald.

Last weekend they saw their promotion bid dented by MIK Dons in a week that was supposed to beckon in a new start.

Only a day prior, it was revealed that Donald had agreed to sell his majority stake in the club to Juan Sartori and Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, the son of former Marseille owner Robert.

Of course, a new owner and further investment doesn't necessarily always mean good news, but it's the chance to start afresh for a club and a city who have been through hell and back in the last three years.

From being relegated from the Premier League and then the Championship, Sunderland are languishing in League One, a division that they're struggling to get out of. 

There is plenty of time in the current campaign to get things back on track, though, which is hopefully what'll happen with fresh ideas from the likes of Sartori and Dreyfus.

However, if you think it's going to be a walk in the park, think again. 

Sunderland gates

For various reasons, it could be a struggle initially. Dreyfus is still only 22 years of age and will need to find willing advisors to fit around him.

The perspective owner has a £2bn trust fund currently in the possession of his mother, but it's unlikely he'll be able to pump too much investment into Sunderland right away. Why is that? 

Well, Derby defender Curtis Davies had the answer when speaking on the recent edition of the EFL podcast. He stated:

"I think the thing that will be difficult for Sunderland is the fact that there’s a wage cap if I’m being totally honest because for whatever money this new owner can bring into the football club, because there’s a wage cap in League One, he’s not going to be able to get the better players to be able to step over the other teams and make themselves almost guaranteed to go up."

Sunderland

GIVEMESPORT'S Matt Dawson says... 

The thing every supporter looks towards when a new owner comes in is how they can exploit the transfer market.

Of course, under Donald everything has not gone according to plan. Just look at the £4m they spent on Will Grigg only for the striker to score eight goals in 55 outings.

"You won't be laughing when he scores a hat-trick in the playoffs" was the infamous quote from Sunderland's current owner after he signed Grigg. Clearly, that hasn't happened and thus, his money should have been better spent.

Will Grigg

New fans will be hoping that irrespective of this wage gap, they can bring in the correct players for Phil Parkinson to utilise. The transfer window is just six weeks away so they will need to get thinking from the get-go. 

This will not be an easy few months to negotiate.