Championship: Ex-Man City, Nottingham Forest and Watford man backs Sunderland for 2024-25 promotion

Former Sunderland goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon has backed the Black Cats for promotion during the 2024-25 Championship season.

The Romanian shot-stopper - who also featured for Manchester City, Watford and Nottingham Forest during his career made 49 appearances for Sunderland between 2014 and 2016. The 37-year-old has not played since leaving Turkish club Denizlispor three years ago.

Sunderland finished a disappointing 16th in the Championship last season having reached the play-offs the campaign before. Despite this, though, Pantilimon is still backing Sunderland for promotion during 2024-25 despite criticism of the club’s model from fans.

“I was so disappointed last season when they lost in the playoffs to come up because I know how much the people love the club and how passionate they are regarding the football club,” Pantilimon said.

“New investors have come in, the strategy is a bit different with a different mindset. They want to go up. This season was not probably the best but next season they will compete for promotion. Sunderland are one of the most historical clubs in England, you want to see them in the Premier League.

“I had great memories there, even though I came from City where we were fighting for winning trophies, but going to Sunderland and trying to stay up, the pressure and the love from those people and the club is something different. It's something different for English football. I think they deserve to be in the Premier League,” the former goalkeeper concluded to OLBG.