It’s not often players become one-club professionals in football in the modern era but with Alan Browne it became a distinct possibility having spent over ten years with Preston North End since moving to England back in 2014.
The Republic of Ireland midfielder is one of a select few in the history books at Deepdale to have surpassed the 400-appearance milestone having established himself as a mainstay and captain in Lancashire over the past decade. Browne has, in the past, intimated his desire to eclipse the club’s all-time record appearance maker, goalkeeper Alan Kelly Snr’s 512, but the 29-year-old will finish his Preston career 98 short having made the decision to part ways with the club in favour of a move to Sunderland.
Browne arrived on Wearside ahead of the club’s first pre-season fixtures with South Shields and Gateshead and became Sunderland’s second signing of the summer following Régis Le Bris’ appointment as new head coach. And the Irishman represents another potential step off the beaten track with which we have seen from the current ownership group of Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and sporting director Kristjaan Speakman, with a considered effort at being able to bring in further experience this summer to aid the Championship’s youngest squad.
Throughout Sunderland’s second season back in the Championship, there were constant suggestions from key club officials, whether it be those who took on the role of head coach or interim head coach or former players, of the need to supplement the squad with further experience in order to improve – given the club’s policy has tended to preside over recruiting younger players with potential.
And with the exit of Corry Evans and Bradley Dack this summer, adding to the likes of Danny Batth, Lynden Gooch and Alex Pritchard over the course of the last 12 months, Sunderland’s squad is in need of some additional grey hairs.
Browne may still have plenty of years left in his career, having only turned 29 in April, but he indeed ticks the box of Championship experience for Sunderland with almost 400 appearances in the second tier to his name during his time with Preston and 35 caps with Republic of Ireland. But aside from Championship and international knowhow, what exactly are Sunderland getting in the Irishman?
“Alan is a dynamic and versatile midfielder, who will complement the players within our squad and bring fresh qualities to our midfield," sporting director Speakman explained.
"His availability is something we have closely followed throughout the last eight months and his ambition was at the forefront of our discussions. He believes he can fulfil those ambitions at Sunderland and after seeing our potential, he wants to play an important role in creating future success."
That dynamism and versatility referenced by Speakman is a sensible place to start given how frequently he rotated throughout Preston’s midfield last season. Browne made 41 appearances in the Championship, with 36 of those coming as a starter, which equated to 3,165 minutes - one of just four players in Ryan Lowe’s side to feature over the 3,000-minute mark. That total would have ranked him eighth most featured player for Sunderland last season, but crucially, if he were to complete a similar number of minutes next season, would see him, as a new recruit, featuring in the majority of minutes available to him whereas Sunderland had eight players from last summer’s recruitment feature in less than 25 per cent of minutes.
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The breakdown of those 41 appearances for Browne, as per Transfermarkt, suggests the Irishman featured most prominently as an attacking midfielder, having started there in over a third of his games, before secondly as a defensive midfielder. Browne also competed as a central midfielder and on either wing periodically throughout the season which demonstrates just how versatile he can be – not too dissimilar to what we saw from Jobe Bellingham last season at the Stadium of Light.
Quite where Le Bris will deploy Browne throughout the season remains open for debate, which is why securing his signature ahead of pre-season is a boost given it now affords the Frenchman the luxury of being able to trial a number of different approaches with Browne in his system.
Sunderland’s need for a defensive midfielder almost outweighs that of their need for a centre-forward, given the lack of options beyond forcing both Dan Neil and Pierre Ekwah into that role last season due to Evans’ injury. The desire for an enforcer has been omnipresent since Evans’ injury in January 2023, or indeed a player with the ability to knit both ends of the pitch together a little more fluidly and robustly.
Browne was ranked third for Preston last season when it comes to tackles won, while ranking second for fouls committed. Browne was first for most fouls drawn and first for ball recoveries (232) which was only three fewer than Neil last season but considerably more than Ekwah and Evans based on his 2022-23 numbers. Browne also ranked third in the entire division for aerial duels per 90 minutes behind Fred Onyedinma and Callum Paterson, as per Wyscout.
While those numbers suggest Browne will be more than adequate as a defensive minded midfielder in Le Bris’ set-up, if we compare those to some of the more attack-minded metrics it’s easy to see how he could be utilised further up the field given his unique tendency to time his runs late into the box when contributing to attacks.
Browne was second for progressive passes in Preston’s squad last season with 140 behind only Andrew Hughes. He also ranked second for passes into the penalty area (28), through balls, defensive actions leading to shots and was behind only Liam Millar when it came to successful take-ons leading to shots and shots outright with 43. Browne topped Preston’s data when it came to expected assists (xA), key passes (46) and passes into the final third (145), while the 29-year-old ended the season with eight goal contributions (four goals and four assists), a total which would leave him one behind Neil, level with Jobe and one more than Ekwah.
By using Fbref’s data radars, we can compare Browne to some of those players within the Sunderland squad in midfield to give a greater understanding as to the kind of output which could be expected this season.
Fbref’s data is powered by Opta and breaks a midfield players ratings down into 18 different categories ranging from progressive carries and pass completion to blocks and clearances. Given Browne’s dynamism and ability to play throughout the spine of the midfield it’s worth comparing him with players in each of the three positions from Sunderland’s current squad in Neil, Ekwah and Jobe while there is also a comparison to Evans from his 2022-23 stats for Sunderland based upon his defensive midfield role.
Of the four separate players, Browne (red) wins out on three of the four radars 11-7 with only Neil recording better statistics across last season.
Although Browne was ranked second for Preston in terms of progressive passing, it is the passing metrics where he falls routinely short in comparison to Sunderland’s four players with Neil, in particular, having more than double Browne’s number of progressive passes (313) last season.
If we look at Browne’s ball progression in greater detail, however, we can see the areas in which he receives the ball and attempts to play progressive passes which came, more often than not, in the opposition half rather than from deep and inside his own half. The image, courtesy of Wyscout, shows how Browne tends to enjoy more success with his deeper progressions of over 40m while the map also highlights some of his deep runs off the ball.
Although Browne only registered four goals last season, he often displayed his willingness to shoot from distance, with only winger Millar having more attempts at goal than the midfielder. That said, Browne’s total of 43 efforts at goal registers below all three of Ekwah (61), Jobe (56) and Neil (55) which means there may be a greater demand on improving that stat under Le Bris, regardless of which midfield position he occupies.
Of those 43 attempts at goal, Browne registered 11 on target which compares to 17 from Ekwah, 24 from Jobe and 12 from Neil. It means he averages a similar percentage of shots on target as both Neil and Ekwah while Jobe’s almost 50 per cent ratio highlights why he has been considered more strongly as a centre-forward during his first season at the Stadium of Light.
Regardless of how advanced Browne finds himself in Le Bris’ system, it is his astute timing into the penalty area which could add value to Sunderland’s attack in the forthcoming season.
So often Sunderland found themselves in promising positions from wide areas where they were then nullified owing to the inexperience at the top end of the pitch and the timing of runs through the middle. If Browne is able to continue his ability to arrive in the penalty area unnoticed, there is a scope for the Irishman to provide a big threat going forward.
Take his final goal for Preston against Leeds United, as an example.
Browne actually starts the move when recycling possession back to his centre-back before play is then spread out wide to Millar on the left wing. As soon as Millar gains possession, Browne is alert to the potential of there being an opportunity in the penalty area and you can see how he immediately scans the forward area to pick his route to the penalty area.
As Millar advances towards the edge of the area, assisted by the overlapping run of Hughes, Browne has now pinpointed his route between Glen Kamara and Crysencio Summerville with a free space now available in the penalty area.
As Millar checks back inside onto his right foot, it’s then about whether he has the ability to pick Browne out in the box.
Djed Spence is forced to cover from left-back in an attempt to deal with the now immediate threat from Browne as Millar’s cross is perfect for the midfielder.
Spence’s arrival is too late, however, as Browne times his jump well to then guide an excellent header beyond the goalkeeper to open the scoring.
Browne’s ability to guide a header goalwards was on display again when Preston travelled to Huddersfield a fortnight earlier.
On this occasion, the midfielder had to reset his run but again showed strong initiative and nous as to when to time his runs into the box unchallenged.
The first image below shows Jordan Storey in possession towards the corner flag where Browne had actually created space for himself in the penalty area had a cross arrived in sooner. Instead, Storey turns back towards Duane Holmes as Browne has to adjust his movement in the box.
As Holmes moves inside onto his left foot, Browne uses that as the trigger to make a dart across the centre-backs and into the space being vacated by the defender moving out to close down the threat of Ched Evans.
Much like with his goal against Leeds, it is then about whether the cross is good enough to track Browne’s run, although on this occasion the midfielder has even more to do with his finish with the cross slightly behind him.
Browne is ably to brilliantly adjust his position to stoop and guide a header up and over the goalkeeper into the far corner to give Preston the lead.
Those attributes will be welcome at the Stadium of Light, with Sunderland’s need to generate more goals throughout their squad to help take some of the burden away from Jack Clarke this season. And Browne will be able to contribute to that with his forward-thinking approach as shown with an assist registered in a win over Birmingham City last September.
As Birmingham clear the ball, it’s Browne who regains possession on the halfway line where a slightly heavy touch invites a press from defensive midfielder Ivan Sunjic. Browne, however, is clever enough to read the press and is able to flick the ball between the legs of Sunjic to open up the final third of the pitch.
As Browne advances, Millar is able to find space in behind the defence owing to Dion Sanderson confronting Browne in the centre of the field.
Similar to Sunjic, Sanderson senses a slightly heavy touch from Browne but isn’t quick enough to take possession away as the Irishman slips the ball deftly by him to create a potential overload on the edge of the penalty area.
Browne has the safer option of playing a pass out to the right for Brad Potts or he can look to slide either Millar or Milutin Osmajic in on goal between the centre-backs.
Browne plays a slide rule ball into the path of Osmajic who makes no mistake in beating John Ruddy at his near post as Browne registered a fine assist in a 2-1 win.
Clearly then, Speakman’s vote of confidence in Browne’s dynamism and versatility is something which is going to aid Le Bris this season given his capacity to feature in a wide range of positions.
But with Sunderland losing their club captain in Evans this summer, it was imperative they were able to address their leadership issues, and Browne undoubtedly does that having been made captain at Deepdale by former Sunderland boss Alex Neil in 2021.
“He is a no-nonsense, quiet, unassuming but gritty and hungry sort of animal - who wants to do as well as he possibly can,” Neil recently told the Lancashire Telegraph on Browne.
“I made Alan captain. I tell you why he was the obvious choice: I think to be a really, really good captain you’ve got to be selfless. And you’ve got to want to be selfless; I was a very young captain at 23, but I probably became a proper captain at 25-26 once I realised it wasn’t all about me.
“Players have got egos and are selfish in certain ways, whereas I think Alan is a proper captain.
“I think with Alan, he is the type of guy who would influence a match for you - even if he doesn’t play well. Al wasn’t frightened of saying his piece and I think a captain is a guy who - irrespective of who it is or how close they are - will say what needs saying for the good of the team.
“And Alan has got that; a lot of players don’t have it.
“If Alan spoke, people would listen because he wouldn’t do it very often - which meant it carried a lot of power when he did it. If he had something to say, he would voice his opinion.
“Alan is a thoughtful guy, as well - he wouldn’t just say something off the cuff, he would spend time thinking about what he’s going to say before he does it.”
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Neil knows a thing or two about being successful at the Stadium of Light having been the one to guide Sunderland back to the Championship and break their Wembley play-off hoodoo when beating Wycombe Wanderers in 2022.
And it was the Scotsman who Browne reached out to prior to the move to the North East in search of advice.
“I did think about texting a few lads but the only person I spoke to was Alex Neil, who only spoke good things about the club,” said Browne.
“I do take his advice on board. He’s someone I worked with for quite some time at Preston and I don’t think he’d point me in the wrong direction, and he had a lot of good things to say.
“I’ve been at Preston for a long time,” he added. “It’s the first club I came to in England and this is my first experience of something different, so it’s something I’m really looking forward to.
“I met the sporting director first and he was just telling me about the values of the club and the history of the club and what they’re ultimately trying to achieve – that’s something I wanted to be a part of.
“Then I spoke to the manager afterwards who shared his ideas with me of how he likes to play and approach games and his different styles of tactics and it’s something I believe in myself with the way he wants to play.
“It’s a good project the club are doing at the minute. They’ve got a lot of young players and I think that’s where I can add a bit of value - I’ve played in the league a long time and I’ve got a lot of experience.
“At the same time, I say they’re young, but they are quite experienced themselves – they were challenging for the play-offs a couple of years back so it’s a really talented squad. I think I can add to that with my experience. That’s something I think this team will need this season if they want to make that next step because they’ve got all the talent – I know myself from playing against them - I’ve beaten them and I’ve lost against them and I know why.
“So, I think I can bring my nous to the team. I’ve captained Preston for quite some time now as well so I can bring those leadership qualities around the place.”
Sunderland’s hierarchy have consistently stressed the importance of learning from their mistakes of the past six-to-eight months, and longer when it comes to the transfer market. While the arrival of Browne on a three-year deal may be industrious rather than spectacular, it certainly points towards an acceptance in adjusting the club’s previous strategy as far as recruitment goes and in doing so addresses an area of the pitch the team needs.
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