Sporting Director Kristjaan Speakman has spoken openly about the Black Cats’ desire to attract new players over the coming weeks, but has also admitted that they will only look to do so if the acquisitions in questions genuinely improve the standard of Lee Johnson’s side.
He told the Echo: “If you cast your thinking back a year, we entered the January transfer window only a short period of time after I joined.
“We tried to make acquisitions that were for the short-term benefit in terms of a couple of loan signings, and a couple of permanent in Carl Winchester and Ross Stewart, which I think have been really good acquisitions for the club.
“We’ll always try to approach it in that way.
“It’s about getting the right mix.
“January always comes with its difficulties in terms of players being under contract and teams being halfway through the season, so the motivation to let players go is often limited,” he added.
“The other thing from our perspective is can someone come in and meet the level required in a short period of time, because you don’t have that pre-season to acclimatise.
“At the present moment we are seeing that some of the teams above us in the leagues are retaining players because of the impact of COVID-19 and postponements.
“We also have a really, really high bar in terms of bringing players into our club and we should always have that.
“There are numerous players on our radar throughout the whole year who we are constantly monitoring and tracking. If the opportunity to acquire one of those players comes up then we will do so.
“There shouldn’t be any nervousness from fans around our ambition to achieve, you just need to be really clear about where your improvements need to be and whether you can make it through any particular player joining the group.
“We have a really strong group at the minute but naturally we are going to have our eyes wide open over the next 30 days.”
But the Black Cats don’t necessarily to go out and spend a fortune to land the players who could help them continue their push for promotion.
As always, there’s a whole roster of eligible free agents peppered throughout the professional game waiting to be picked up by new clubs, and we’ve picked out 10 of the ones <strong>Sunderland</strong> could look at below...
![Perhaps a bit of a controversial one to kick us off, Sinclair’s previous spell in the North East was cut short during Sunderland’s first season in League One. Since then, he has been let go by Watford, but could another bite of the cherry at the Stadium of Light be the exact thing he needs to reignite his stagnating career? (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)](https://www.thestar.co.uk/jpim-static/image/2022/01/04/13/GettyImages-949518760-1.jpg?crop=3:2&width=800)
1. Jerome Sinclair - Striker
Perhaps a bit of a controversial one to kick us off, Sinclair’s previous spell in the North East was cut short during Sunderland’s first season in League One. Since then, he has been let go by Watford, but could another bite of the cherry at the Stadium of Light be the exact thing he needs to reignite his stagnating career? (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images) | Getty Images
![The wide man has been without a club since being release by Southampton over the summer, but has League One experience following a stint with Doncaster Rovers last term. That spell yielded eight assists in 28 League One outings for the 24-year-old. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)](https://www.thestar.co.uk/jpim-static/image/2022/01/04/13/GettyImages-1305684172.jpg?crop=3:2&width=800)
2. Josh Sims - Winger (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)
The wide man has been without a club since being release by Southampton over the summer, but has League One experience following a stint with Doncaster Rovers last term. That spell yielded eight assists in 28 League One outings for the 24-year-old. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images) | Getty Images
![With nearly 200 combined Premier League and Championship appearances to his name, Wisdom certainly has plenty of pedigree, and at 28, he is far from over the hill. A versatile defensive option, he left Derby County last summer. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)](https://www.thestar.co.uk/jpim-static/image/2022/01/04/13/GettyImages-1272638883.jpg?crop=3:2&width=800)
3. Andre Wisdom - Right-back
With nearly 200 combined Premier League and Championship appearances to his name, Wisdom certainly has plenty of pedigree, and at 28, he is far from over the hill. A versatile defensive option, he left Derby County last summer. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images) | Getty Images
![We’re looking slightly further afield for this one, but Thórarinsson is a 12-cap Iceland international who can play anywhere down the left flank and in the centre of midfield. He last featured in the MLS for New York City, and even has a couple of Champions League appearances to his name. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)](https://www.thestar.co.uk/jpim-static/image/2022/01/04/13/GettyImages-1313371743.jpg?crop=3:2&width=800)
4. Gudmundur Thórarinsson - Left-back
We’re looking slightly further afield for this one, but Thórarinsson is a 12-cap Iceland international who can play anywhere down the left flank and in the centre of midfield. He last featured in the MLS for New York City, and even has a couple of Champions League appearances to his name. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) | Getty Images