With just a few days remaining in the transfer window, Sunderland are desperately running out of time to sign much-needed reinforcements to their squad.
A string of long-term injuries means David Moyes has a lot of work to do if the Black Cats are to put together a team strong enough to avoid yet another relegation battle, with Seb Larsson, Vito Mannone and possibly Fabio Borini on the injury table long term. There are also doubts over the fitness of Jan Kirchhoff and Billy Jones, as well as club captain John O’Shea.
Add the injury worries to the imminent departure of Jeremain Lens, an already thin squad begins to look thinner than paper.
Whilst Moyes does seem keen on promoting youth players – Lynden Gooch and Joel Asoro have both made their league débuts in the three games so far – this is not a viable option for the full season.
We have looked at seven players the Black Cats should aim to sign before the transfer window closes.
