Daniel Crosbie says…
I’m going to cheat on this one a bit, because what we miss the most isn’t a specific position per se but a match-winner.
In two seasons under Régis Le Bris, we’ve never really had a consistent one; a player you trust to come up with the goods when a game’s getting away from us and the type that drags a result out of nothing when no one else can find it.
There was a stretch where you could argue we leaned on those players too heavily. For years, if you blunted Jack Clarke, Amad Diallo, Aiden McGeady
or Jermain Defoe, you stopped us scoring. But on the flip side, however bad it got, you never quite stopped believing one of them would dig us out.
We currently have one of the most well-balanced sides in the league, and I don’t want to lose that. But what I’d add to it is a match-changer, a reliable goalscorer that can take a game by the scruff of the neck when the rest of the team is floundering.
Whether that turns out to be the left-footed right winger or real competition for Brian Brobbey up top, give us a player that scores the goals that decide games in the moments when everyone else goes missing.
David Elliott says…
I’d like to see the club target a striker, preferably one with a proven goalscoring record.
That’ll be far from easy to achieve but I do think we could do with bringing in someone that can change matches regularly by converting a high percentage of chances.
I love Brian Brobbey and Wilson Isidor — they add so much to the team in very different ways and Régis Le Bris definitely seemed to mange the pair of them very well, especially towards the end of the season. Both of them will chip in with important goals but I’m not sure whether they’re natural goalscorers, as Kevin Phillips was, for example.
Perhaps in Brobbey’s case, there’s more time for him to develop his scoring skills, particularly through getting cleaner contact on close-range efforts which he scuffs now and again. Isidor obviously makes excellent runs and I like that he’s willing to take a shot on.
Neither of the two looks like being prolific yet, so to bring in a player that’s confident in front of goal and who could contribute twelve to fifteen goals in a season would make a big impact.
Jon Guy says…
I think it has to be a striker.
Although we had a wonderful season back in the Premier League, I still feel we need a striker who can get 15 goals next term. Brian Brobbey has been great and Wilson Isidor can provide some magic, but we don’t have that poacher in the box that can provide a different threat.
I appreciate they don’t come cheaply but with European football, we’ll need at least three established strikers.
Lewis Forbister says…
Sunderland must strengthen their striker options before the new campaign gets underway. With four competitions to balance, relying on just two senior number nines would be a huge gamble.
Brian Brobbey and Wilson Isidor are both excellent options but a season that could stretch to sixty games demands greater depth. Academy graduate Finn Geragusian can certainly play a part as a rotation option, but I still believe Sunderland should sign one or two more forwards to help shoulder the workload.
Every striker wants to be the first name on the team sheet, and that’s exactly why adding more competition would benefit the squad.
Knowing there’s another quality forward ready to take your place pushes players to maintain high standards every single week, and healthy competition is vital if Sunderland are to compete on all four fronts and enjoy a successful season.
For me, striker is the priority position this summer. You can never have too many goalscorers and if Sunderland want to challenge in every competition, they need the firepower to match their ambitions.
Mark Ryan says…
It’s got to be right wing.
One of the reasons I’m glad we didn’t go as high as Leeds for Muharemović was I believe that money needs to go to a nailed-on starter on the right. A lack of good wingers was a huge part of our inability to score goals or even be goal dangerous. We didn’t — and won’t — get the best out of Brian Brobbey without big improvements there, but I’m confident in Chemsdine Talbi and Nilson Angulo’s improvement on the left.
On the right, I’m excited about Jocelin Ta Bi’s potential and Trai Hume and Chris Rigg were serviceable there the last few games, but we can’t go into the year with those being the primary options.
I’ll take Matías Soulé and his versatility, but I’d prefer a dedicated winger — such as Anis Hadj Moussa.
Matthew Donne says…
I’m excited to see a high quality winger come into the fray, whether that’s the rumoured Matías Soulé or another signing our highly successful transfer gurus conjure up.
It was perhaps the only position in our whole eleven last season that didn’t quite fit despite Régis Le Bris’ tactical nous by placing Trai Hume there.
Now that we’re becoming an established side with Europe on the horizon, I’d love to see a creative, attacking outlet there to feed the likes of Brian Brobbey, Wilson Isidor and whoever else we bring up top.
Once we settle on a quality right winger, our main business should start to settle and then the best deals of the window could be upon us (like Robin Roefs and Noah Sadiki) from last term.
Tom Albrighton says…
For me, it has to be who they bring in to be Granit Xhaka’s understudy and eventual successor.
Central midfield isn’t a priority area but the scare of possibly losing Xhaka this summer brought into focus the need to have his successor on board as soon as possible.
Xhaka doesn’t just bring quality — he brings leadership, understanding and an elite mentality. He’s the kind of player that makes those around him better just by being there and as shown during his absences last season, it’s a void that’s very difficult to fill.
That’s why I’m excited to see who picks up the mantle of being his successor.
It’a safe to assume we’ll look to identify someone of a similar age and experience but the club may also fancy looking a bit more left field and with perhaps even the blessing of Xhaka himself, we’ll look to identify a younger player that can be moulded to replicate our captain.
Wadey says…
I’d love to see a striker through the door sooner rather than later; however, left back is the one we absolutely have to cover.
While I appreciate that Trai Hume and Luke O’Nien could possibly provide cover in the full back positions, a dedicated left back is essential.
Reinildo was superb for us when he wasn’t injured or getting himself sent off, but there’s no guarantee that won’t happen again given his age and temperament. I was disappointed to let Dennis Cirkin go as when he wasn’t injured he provided excellent cover — it just wouldn’t be fair to keep him away from a regular start elsewhere.
If possible, I’d like to see a decent defender, young and with the ambition to overlap on the wing as the opportunity arises in tandem with either Chemsdine Talbi or Nilson Ángulo, as that could be frightening for an opposition right back.
Is Nico O’Reilly available? No? Didn’t think so, but that’s the type of guy we should be after.
