Lee Johnson delivers honest transfer appraisal ahead of January window and talks money available

The Black Cats face Plymouth Argyle at the Stadium of Light on Saturday after beating Morecambe 5-0 on Tuesday.

That has left Johnson’s team in fourth position in League One with Sunderland just two points of pace-setters Rotherham United and Wigan Athletic, although the Latics have a game in hand on the Black Cats.

But with several injuries to key first-team squad members – including Luke O’Nien, Niall Huggins, Dennis Cirkin, Jordan Willis, Corry Evans and Aiden McGeady – talk has turned towards potential reinforcements in January.

Johnson, when asked how busy Sunderland’s transfer window could be, explained: “I don’t know is the honest answer.”

He continued: “Our aim will be to come out of the January transfer window better than we went in.

“There is always a natural evolution of any squad. We’ve had two windows, this will be our third, and we’re just trying to hone in on the process.

“I think we will be able to recruit. I expect us to be able to recruit. Nobody has told us any different. But at the same time, we want to maximise the points from now until then.

“That’s where my focus has to stay.”

Sunderland haven’t spent vast amounts of money in the transfer market under new majority shareholder Kyril Louis Dreyfus despite the owner’s vast personal wealth.

Instead, the club have prioritised structural appointments at the Academy of Light and have invested in the Black Cats’ youth system.

Asked if he would have money to spend in the upcoming window or whether he will be relying on loans and free transfers, Johnson said: “I think there are a number of ways that you can attain funds.

“You can have good cup runs, which is a part of it, you can trade and sell players. You can move people in and out of budget.

“You can only have five loans [in any one matchday squad] and we have five with Broadhead, Alves, Doyle, Hoffmann and Dajaku.

“You obviously have the free transfer market and I think an interesting market for us is the players who are going out of contract at the end of the year and that are maybe on the fringes of Championship squads.

“At the same time, we’re always looking to find that gem in the lower leagues.”

“We are all over it with what we have got. We haven’t got the biggest scouting departing but our data is improving by the day and we have our own knowledge and contacts.

“And then obviously Stuart Harvey is working very hard in the background. There’s a lot of work that goes into it.

"I have started browsing over some recommendations of players that I didn’t know which has been quite interesting. There have been some good players fed into me that way.

"It is a lot of work and a lot of time to look at a player properly, that is a unique player, and what I mean is that I don’t know them from before, you’re probably looking at about 20/30 hours.”

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