The transfer window closes on Monday 2 February 2026 — in less than 100 hours as I am writing this piece.
So far Sunderland have only signed the promising Ivorian winger Jocelin Ta Bi, for a very modest
fee. It appears that the recruitment team snatched the young prospect from right under the noses of Celtic.
Attention has been much more focused on departures — enough has already been written in tribute to Dan Neil, and Jay Matete, Joe Anderson, Nna Noukeu and Ben Middlemas are already pursuing their careers elsewhere, whilst Timur Tutierov has made a lightning-quick start to his loan at Exeter City.
As has become customary with transfer speculation surrounding Sunderland these days, there are few substantive rumours about further potential acquisitions and, for once, that is not a concern for me. Why, you may ask?
Firstly, the excellent summer recruitment programme has substantially raised the bar when it comes to improving the squad, and there is no point in signing any player who won’t do that. I won’t run through a full ‘hit or miss’ assessment of the players who arrived but there is an argument that the only real ‘miss’ — Arthur Masuaku — has already departed, on loan. With a fit-again Dennis Cirkin stepping up in the absence of Reinildo, there is an argument that his replacement was already in place.
The one position that actually proved difficult to fill during AFCON was on the right wing, a situation not helped by Bertrand Traoré returning from that competition injured. Ideally, a ready-made replacement could be signed before the window closes. However, Régis Le Bris is not a coach who is prone to throwing new signings straight into the team — he favours a more methodical approach, ensuring that they are properly ‘connected’ with the squad beforehand. So any new right winger may not be properly embedded to Le Bris’ satisfaction before Traoré returns to fitness.
Raheem Sterling’s release by Chelsea may look opportune but there are several reasons why he may not fit. Le Bris insists on wingers who work as hard defensively as they do in attack, which is not a feature of Sterling’s game, and he would be a complete outlier to the club’s recruitment policy.
The only other obvious gap in the squad would be a like-for-like replacement for Granit Xhaka — but where do you find one of those?
There is no sign that the club hierarchy are willing to sacrifice the sensible and sustainable transfer policy that has brought us this far, and I see no reason why, as fans, we should be clamouring for them to do so before the window closes. Seeing Crystal Palace shelling out £85 million for Brennan Johnson and Jørgen Strand Larsen should be an indicator for even the most demanding supporter of the harsh realities of recruitment in January.
It is now simply a case of trusting Florent Ghisolfi, Kristjaan Speakman and the recruitment team to work through who is available, on what terms, and decide whether or not they will improve a squad that is already outperforming even the most optimistic of expectations.
And the club has more than earned that trust. The investment that was made in the summer was as extensive as it was unexpected. There is no room for any suggestion that Kyril Louis-Dreyfus is not committed to bringing success to the Stadium of Light. If anyone has any doubts that the club will pounce if the right player is available at the right price, just cast your minds back 12 months.
Sunderland rocked the football world by persuading Enzo Le Fée to swap the Stadio Olimpico, Roma and Serie A for the banks of the Wear, and the Championship. As fans, we should have full confidence that, if there is a deal to be done anywhere in the world that will help this squad push on, then we have the recruitment team to make it happen.
But there is another reason why I am not furiously checking the Internet for updates — we still have yet to see so many of the players who arrived just a few months ago really develop and fulfil their potential.
Nordi Mukiele, Omar Alderete, Reinildo and Granit Xhaka have all shown their quality but we have so many players who still have so much potential to develop. Robin Roefs has already been excellent yet there is no doubt that he is going to get even better. Noah Sadiki can add goals as he continues to evolve into the complete midfielder, and Habib Diarra will almost be like a new signing. Every Sunderland fan should be excited to see just why he is (currently) the club’s record signing.
Up front, Brian Brobbey is only just beginning to show why Dutch manager Martin Jol described him as ‘the signing of the summer’. The muscular striker has only recently been fit enough to complete 90 minutes, and is now attracting plaudits from the likes of Thierry Henry. Watching him terrifying defenders for the remainder of the season is going to be exciting.
Chemsdine Talbi spent most of AFCON warming the bench for Morocco. He has already demonstrated that he is a dazzling prospect — hopefully he is returning with a point to prove!
Régis Le Bris has already reiterated the club’s commitment to giving young players the opportunity to develop so the likes of Eliezer Mayenda and Romaine Mundle are likely to be afforded more chances.
We know that the club finances are in good shape to recruit in the summer when there will be a far greater choice of quality players available. So, if the capable and well-oiled machine that is Sunderland’s recruitment team cannot find the right player(s) at the right price to improve this squad before the window closes, there will be no complaints from me.
Instead, you will find me in the stands, enjoying watching the brilliant players we already have develop and grow. Ha’way the lads!
