How are Sunderland shaping up in the final stages of the January transfer window?

01/28/2025 01:00 AM

As clubs throughout the league aim to strengthen their squads this week, we asked our writers for their thoughts on the current state of play on Wearside

Anthony Gair says...

Personally, I'm not fazed by it.

If we recruit someone, we recruit someone. It's probably not going to improve the side that we currently have, but it'll give us some much needed depth.

However, I think the team we have has proven time and time again that it's capable of results regardless of the opposition.

One draw against Plymouth Argyle isn't going to change all that.

John Wilson says...

I think that when everyone is fit, our squad is capable of a top two finish.

Obviously more recruits wouldn't be sniffed at, but you could argue that if we end up in a situation where some players weren't getting game time, they could become restless and want away.

Look how Régis Le Bris has tried to shoe horn Enzo Le Fée into the team in a position that isn't 6, 8 or 10 as we were told — perhaps so that he didn't offend Dan Neil, Jobe or Chris Rigg?

If we're going to have a bigger squad, they need to be used and rotated, which isn't something we've seen from Le Bris to date. I still think we need cover at full back and a proven striker would be nice, but I'm happy that the club know what they're doing and will be working hard behind the scenes.

On the other hand, they made a statement of intent when signing Le Fée, I'm not sure how much of a statement of intent it would be if he was the only major incoming?

Jon Guy says…

I think there's more to come.

We need an out-and-out goalscorer and I think that's the priority for the coming days. I think it'll go to the wire but that we're likely to get a new face in, as we need to be converting more chances.

With Enzo Le Fée, we seem to have got a really classy player who'll turn on the magic when we really need it once he settles in. I also think that with Romaine Mundle and Alan Browne on the way back, the squad has a bit of depth, which we're likely to need in the weeks to come.

The bigger question is whether we can we keep hold of our stars in the face of increasing desperation from some of the misfiring Premier League sides.

Malc Dugdale says…

It's a tough one, as we all know we have some newly-signed players or lads who've recovered from injury who simply need time to get up to speed and to see how they do.

The likes of Salis Abdul Samed and Enzo Le Fée have made appearances of late but it'll be a few more games before we know their true value and how they gel with the team and the tactics, and by then the window will be over.

We also have a lot of talent to still come back, including Romaine Mundle and Tommy Watson. Chris Rigg isn't long back too, and will improve with playing time.

Personally, I'd like to see a centre back who can also cover full back, a right winger and another striker/attacker to come in before the window closes.

In my view, we really need competition for Patrick Roberts, and although he's had some good moments, he's had some poor spells this season and another player breathing down his neck will help.

I'd like a centre back as we've lost Aji Alese for the season, and Dan Ballard and Chris Mepham have had injury scares of late. Luke O'Nien has had a few hairy moments too, contributing to some of our poorer results on more than one recent occasion.

I'm thinking that we can maybe get someone in now who could be our Premier League option for the future alongside Mepham (assuming he stays if we go up), which I'm not sure O'Nien or Ballard are fully good enough for.

Upfront, we've bade farewell to Nazariy Rusyn, so we need someone who can push Eliezer Mayenda and Wilson Isidor to keep churning out the goals and assists.

With both of those lads blessed with pace and the ability to play wide if needed, maybe we need a centre forward who can hold play up, use his physicality and strength to get us up the pitch, and maybe get some aerial threat into our forward line.

The players and Régis Le Bris have us in the top four on merit, so there's an element of 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it', which we maybe should've considered before the Plymouth game.

Kristjaan Speakman should do what's right.

He's done more good than harm during the last few January windows and I've got to the point where I trust the club to do what we need to an extent (despite many of the players we buy being new names to me), which is a compliment to all involved.