The Sunderland January transfer Q&A: Priority positions, new links assessed and club stance on sales explained

The January transfer window has opened and Sunderland are expected to strengthen their squad for the second half of the Championship campaign. There has also already been significant speculation around some of the club's most promising young players and interest from the Premier League.

So what do we know so far and what can fans expect? Here we take a closer look in our first January transfer window Q&A...

What was Michael Beale's latest update as the January transfer window opens?

The Echo asked Beale in his pre-match press conference on Wednesday afternoon where the club's plans for the January window stood amid a busy schedule of fixtures, and whether he had as of yet had the chance to give his own input into where he feels the squad could be improved.

He said: "We spoke about it in our initial meetings and it has been ongoing.

"Stuart Harvey the head of recruitment is someone I was familiar with before I came in and the recruitment here is done by a number of us getting together in a room and discussing the options that we have. We have a clear idea on one or two of the areas we would like to strengthen this month if we can.

"It's never an easy month, but certainly we are going to try and do something to strengthen and boost the squad and to hopefully excite the fans. Those discussions are going on in the background - this [derby] game has been a bit of a distraction, if I'm honest! - but those discussions were happening even yesterday morning and later on in the afternoon."

Much of Sunderland's planning for this window will have been done long before Beale's arrival, with the club's recruitment department tracking long-term targets all year round. Beale has then joined at the latter stages of the process to give his view on those targets, and to offer some thoughts of his own.

What are the areas Beale - and Sunderland - are looking to strengthen?

Though Kristjaan Speakman said he expected Beale to add some new ideas to help Sunderland's current crop of four strikers to further integrate into the side and get on the goal trail this season, it's understood that a new addition is a priority for the club heading into the January window.

Nazariy Rusyn is likely to earn a run in the side after his excellent performance against Preston North End but with Sunderland's other options still finding their feet in a new environment, adding more depth and quality is a clear priority as the club look to maintain their play-off push.

As for other areas of the squad, Sunderland have been linked with a loan swoop for Aston Villa midfielder Lamare Bogarde, who is well known to Beale from his previous spell at the club. Midfield has been an area where Sunderland have been lacking depth for much of 2023, since Corry Evans suffered an ACL injury against Middlesbrough. It's a position many fans would like to see strengthened and given that Beale has talked about improving the side's defensive structure, a more natural holding midfielder would seem an obvious choice.

Sunderland's business won't necessarily all be about the here and now, either. If they have the chance to add a player who can bolster their longer-term succession planning and give them additional time to adjust to a new environment, as was the case with Pierre Ekwah last season, then they will do so.

For example, they almost signed another wide player in the closing stages of the summer transfer window but were just unable to get a deal over the line.

Are Sunderland targeting permanent or loan acquisitions?

Both, in short. As Speakman said at Beale's unveiling last month: "From a transfer window perspective, the club has always invested either in the short, but certainly in the medium and long-term, around trying to improve the quality. We'll continue to approach that, and we have been on with that piece of work since the [summer] transfer window closed."

Sunderland may well look to the loan market in terms of their need for more depth up front, and particularly as Mason Burstow's short-term future is in obvious doubt. Despite featuring as a second-half substitute against Rotherham, his game time has been very limited of late and it's understood that there is a strong chance that Chelsea will activate their recall clause this month. The dilemma for Chelsea is that having played for them early in the season, the striker now cannot go back out on loan and play for another club this season. If Burstow did return to Chelsea, then another loan forward would be an obvious option for the club. Jay Stansfield has been linked again, but that would be a surprise given that he turned down the move in the summer. Kieffer Moore is another name mentioned, but he will attract a lot of Championship interest and most likely from clubs with a bigger budget than Sunderland.

In terms of permanent acquisitions, Sunderland will target young players with resale value and who can grow with the club - that isn't going to change in this window or future ones.

What about Jack Clarke and other player sales - is there a chance any key players will leave this month?

There is significant interest in a number of Sunderland's most promising young players but the club are at least in a strong position. Dan Ballard and Dan Neil both signed new, long-term contracts last year - along with a number of other players.

Clarke's position is different in that talks over a new long-term deal have not progressed significantly, and at the moment do not appear particularly likely to do so. That means a huge bid could force Sunderland's hand but as of now he has two-and-a-half years on his current deal, and both parties expect him to see out the campaign with the Black Cats - where he is loving his football and his key role in the team. As was the case last summer, Clarke is understood to be in no rush to move on at this stage.

Things can change quickly in the transfer window and with the level of finance on offer in the Premier League but as of now, the feeling is that the summer window is a more dangerous one for Sunderland if they do not win promotion. Last month, Speakman made clear that the club were not looking to sell in this window unless unavoidable.

Could Sunderland sanction any loan deals for their younger players?

It's a definite possibility. Mike Dodds confirmed last month that the club have been considering a loan move for Jewison Bennette, who has struggled to break into the side on a regular basis this season.

Luis Hemir is another who has featured little and needs to be playing. The challenge is to ensure they find the right club and team, where the style will suit their game and help them integrate into Sunderland's somewhere down the line. Given that both are adjusting to a new language and environment, it's also imperative that if they do go out on loan, it's to a club where they can continue to make progress on that front too.