Kristjaan Speakman on whether Sunderland will pursue free agent deals and where deadline day left the current squad

The Black Cats had explored adding another centre back and potentially experienced cover in goal to their squad as the window came to a close, but Vito Mannone opted instead to join FC Lorient.

Kristjaan Speakman said on Thursday that he would assess those still without a club, but that he didn't feel it was a necessity.

"We're not looking at the free agents market like we need to find a player," he told The Echo.

"Naturally, as I said last year, we'll look at it and what the availability is. We don't need any players if that's the question, but at the same time we're always vigilant and if we can improve then we'll look to do that."

Sunderland's lack of deadline day business has left some concerns with supporters over a couple of positions where further recruitment had been expected.

No replacement was found for Nathan Broadhead, who was close to joining on a permanent basis before opting to move to Wigan Athletic on loan.

And there was no extra defensive cover found despite Dan Ballard's foot injury. Luke O'Nien's versatility is therefore going to be key moving forward, and both Speakman and Tony Mowbray feel they have the cover needed further forward.

"We think we've got a lot of flexibility in the group, which is something that Tony alluded to earlier," Speakman said.

"You've got Ross and Ellis who are your out-and-out nines, then you've got Amad and Leon [Dajaku] who can play up there and some younger ones beneath if we feel the time is right and if they can get Tony's trust.

"We think we've got that flexibility, externally there'll always be that discussion about the right balance and as soon as you get an injury the expectation is you'll buy another player, and that's just not reality.

'We feel we've got tactical flexibility and we can get through to the next pit-stop if you like in January, hopefully Dan will be back after the World Cup break. We have to see those players play, lads like Aji Alese need to play and grab that opportunity. You can't just keep filling the spot in front of him."

Sunderland also lack cover in holding midfield where Corry Evans has excelled, with most other midfield options more comfortable in more advanced roles.

Speakman said it is up to Edouard Michut and Abdoullah Ba to challenge the excellent Evans.

"We've got some really good players there and it's about how you set up," Speakman said.

"We've spoken about playing with a holding player and two tens, with three eights... no game is the same. We wanted a variety of options so that the coaching staff can pick different players in different positions to try to get the best out of those games.

"Corry has done incredibly well in terms of getting back into the Championship and demonstrating how good a player he is. At the minute he's in that spot and it's up to the other players to prove they can do that job better, that's the competitiveness we want in the group."