Louis-Dreyfus witnesses life as an SAFC supporter
Kyril Louis-Dreyfus is at the Stadium of Light for the game against Doncaster Rovers as fans wait for the takeover to be completed.
The incoming Sunderland owner made a brief appearance pitchside ahead of the game to take in the surroundings at the Stadium of Light having emerged from the tunnel.
He has spent time on Wearside this week at the Academy of Light and the Stadium of Light.
Louis-Dreyfus also attended the Shrewsbury Town defeat in midweek.
Despite the defeat it was a significant moment to see Louis-Dreyfus pictured at a Sunderland game with the takeover in the final stages of the EFL approval process.
The Echo has approached the EFL for comment about the process but they have again declined, they do not usually comment on ongoing takeover deals.
Sunderland are waiting for final approval from the EFL, which once granted will see Stewart Donald sell a majority of his shares to LouisDreyfus, who will take charge at the Stadium of Light.
On Tuesday night, the prospective new chairman watched on alongside Sporting Director Kristjaan Speakman, who will be the key figure in leading the planned overhaul of the club's footballing structure.
Johnson confirmed that there had been contact since the takeover deal was first announced in December and spoke openly about it on Thursday.
Speaking about the takeover at his pre-match press conference, head coach Lee
Johnson said: “I'm very, very confident in his motives.
"I'm very confident in his ideas, he's bright, intelligent and he's got good ideas.
"Obviously he's got experience as well, and it reminds me a bit of myself in terms of my dad being a manager, and having the front-row seat as I grew up.
"He's had that with his family and their ownership of Olympique de Marseille and Club Brugge.
"Every contact I've had with Kyril impresses me more and more.
"He's got a sound board behind him depending on how the shake up works, in terms of experience of what's gone well and what hasn't gone well.
"When I came to the club I really believed that we needed to be brave.”
It was the kind of pass that few players in League One would have seen, let alone executed to such perfection.
As Aiden McGeady bamboozled his marker with a fine piece of skill inside the Sunderland half, he saw the space.
A perfectly weighted-pass followed and in seconds, the Black Cats had gone from a situation with little promise to a one-on-one situation.
The only disappointing factor of the move was that Lynden Gooch – who was on the end of the pass and subsequently burst into the box – was denied by Ellery Balcombe, meaning McGeady’s fine ball was deprived of the finish it deserved.
But it was a moment archetypal of the winger's quality on an afternoon where he was a sheer joy to watch.
This was, as Lee Johnson described it post-match, vintage McGeady. He found pockets of space, caused Doncaster no-end of problems with his movement and was at the heart of everything good Sunderland did in the comprehensive and vital win.
The 34-year-old’s impact on the side is growing weekon-week, which is perhaps to be expected given how short of match fitness he was when thrust into the side back in December – five months since he had last played a first-team game.
At MK Dons last weekend, McGeady was in fine form. But the Doncaster performance took things to another level.
His deliveries were sublime and exactly what an inform striker in Charlie Wyke craves. McGeady puts the ball into the areas strikers dream of – and the duo seem to be building up a strong understanding
having now had a consistent run of form together.
Now he’s approaching full fitness again, McGeady’s quality is really starting to show and his contributions are becoming
more frequent.
And if there’s one statistic that proves his growing influence on the side, then it’s this one.
McGeady already has eight assists to his name this season
– meaning only one player in League One has provided more goals than him this season.
That player is George Honeyman, who has made 26 appearances and provided nine assists. McGeady has made 12 appearances and set-up eight goals.
It’s a stunning record, and one which you’d back the Sunderland man to increase as the season progresses.
Wolves capitalised on a hotlydisputed penalty to leapfrog Southampton in the Premier League table with a 2-1 win at St Mary's Stadium.
Ruben Neves converted the contested spotkick that transformed the south coast clash, after Ryan Bertrand was controversially punished for handball.
Nelson Semedo's rasping effort struck Bertrand's hand as his back was turned attempting a block at point-blank range, but still the penalty was awarded.
Neves' fourth league goal of the season cancelled out Danny Ings' stunning first-half volley, floored Saints and set Wolves en route to a first win in three matches.
Pedro Neto pirouetted around Jannik Vestergaard before slotting the winner, to condemn Saints to a sixth-straight Premier League loss.
Wolves avenged Southampton's 2-0 FA Cup win at Molineux from Thursday, with the penalty transforming the visitors from a disjointed rabble into an energised unit.
For the second time in as many months, Southampton felled a Premier League rival in the cup only to lose a quick-fire return match in the top flight. Just as Saints saw off Arsenal in the cup only to lose to the Gunners three days later, so too here did Ralph Hasenhuttl's men end up on the receiving end of revenge.
Saints manager Hasenhuttl was particularly incensed about Wolves' penalty, launching an extended tirade at the fourth official.
The Austrian had hoped the cup win at Wolves would prove the catalyst for a return to league form, but instead Saints' wait to put that 9-0 hammering at Manchester United fully to bed goes on.
Wolves have not been without their troubles either, and manager Nuno Espirito Santo will cling to this comeback win as the green shoots of a desperately craved resurgence.
The Midlanders' win saw Wolves jump over Southampton into 12th place in the league table, with clashes against Leeds, Newcastle and Aston Villa to come.