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A new era is set to get underway at Sunderland this summer with the appointment of a new manager.

It has been a turbulent campaign for the Black Cats in the Championship, and the controversial decision to replace Tony Mowbray with Michael Beale in December has proven to be incredibly damaging for their season.

Beale was an unpopular appointment among Sunderland supporters, and he was sacked in February after winning just four wins of his 12 games in charge, with Mike Dodds taking charge until the end of the season.

There is pressure on owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus to make the right appointment this summer, and the expectant Black Cats fan base will be hoping for a much-improved season next term.

In addition to the managerial instability, there have been big changes in the playing squad at Sunderland this season, with a host of senior players departing over the course of the campaign, including the likes of Lynden Gooch, Danny Batth and Alex Pritchard.

Batth was a surprise victim of the club's desire to lower the average age of the squad in the summer as he made the move to Norwich City, and while he may be disappointed by the manner of his exit, he certainly made an impact during his time at the Stadium of Light.

Batth's short spell at Sunderland should not be forgotten

Batth had enjoyed plenty of success in his career prior to his arrival on Wearside, most notably captaining Wolverhampton Wanderers to the Championship title in 2018.

After falling out of favour at Molineux in the Premier League, Batth joined Stoke City for an initial fee of £3 million in January 2019, and he quickly became a mainstay at the heart of the Potters' defence.

Despite featuring regularly for Stoke in the first half of the 2021-22 season, Batth made the move to Sunderland on a free transfer in January 2022, and it would prove to be an outstanding bit of business from the club.

Batth was immediately thrown into the Black Cats' line-up, but it was a tough start to life at the Stadium of Light, with Lee Johnson being dismissed just weeks after his arrival.

The 33-year-old then spent a period on the sidelines with injury, but he returned towards the latter part of the season, and he played a crucial role as Sunderland achieved promotion to the Championship under Alex Neil, starting all three play-off games.

Danny Batth stepped up into the Championship

Batth retained his place in the Championship, forming an excellent centre-back partnership with Dan Ballard, and he made 42 appearances in all competitions, wearing the captain's armband on a number of occasions.

It was a remarkable campaign for the Black Cats last season as they finished sixth in their first year back in the second tier, but Batth sustained an injury at the end of the season, ruling him out of the play-offs.

Former manager Mowbray said that Batth was missed as his side lost to Luton Town in the semi-finals, admitting that the defender would have been useful to help deal with the Hatters' aerial threat and physicality.

Batth was rewarded for his performances as he won the club's Player of the Year award, but he found himself out of the team at the start of the season, featuring just once in the EFL Cup prior to joining Norwich in September.

Sporting Director Kristjaan Speakman said it was a tough decision to let Batth leave, telling the Sunderland Echo: "Danny is a highly respected player and he’s been an absolute professional throughout his time at Sunderland AFC, which is exactly why we brought him to the club.

"He’s not featured in our team this season and it’s in his nature to want to play games regularly, and compete week-in, week-out. Following an open dialogue with him throughout the summer, we took the difficult decision to agree to allow him to leave the Club if the right opportunity presented itself and we wish him all the best."

Batth's experienced missed in 2023/24

While Ballard and Luke O'Nien have performed well for Sunderland this season, it is difficult not to feel that a player of Batth's experience would have helped the young Black Cats squad through a challenging campaign.

Batth may have only been at the Stadium of Light for 18 months, but the Black Cats made significant progress during that time, and he was an integral part of their success.