Phil Smith's Sunderland AFC transfer deadline day Q&A: Aiden McGeady future, incomings, outgoings and Phil Parkinson's priorities under microscope

Our Sunderland AFC writer Phil Smith answers your deadline day questions on incomings, outgoings and the future of Aiden McGeady.

Follow our live Sunderland AFC deadline day Q&A here:

Why do we always leave it to last minute to do anything? David Howie, North Shields

There are a couple of different ways to answer one, I think.

I think you have to acknowledge that in some positions the criticism is fair, and in some ways Sunderland have been a little unlucky.

Morgan Feeney and Arbenit Xhemajli both looked promising additions in their early cameos, and Xhemajli was, for this level, a reasonable investment on the club’s part.

It’s desperately unfortunate that he’ll miss the whole season, and we’re all wishing him a full and speedy recovery.

Injuries are a fact of life in football, but the Black Cats cat have been a bit unlucky at the heart of defence in the way things have gone.

When fully fit, they have four senior options plus Conor McLaughlin, Luke O’Nien, Brandon Taylor & Feeney.

That does, definitely seem one too few in terms of established, natural senior options and I suppose we’ve seen why this week.

It was risky to let both Joel Lynch and Alim Ozturk go but the obvious caveat is that there are exceptional times.

On the left of defence, it’s definitely a position where you wonder how we’ve still got to this point.

Even before the summer, it was clear that Declan John was not a long-term solution and so it was clear that a replacement would be needed.

In truth, Sunderland have needed one ever since Reece James left over a year ago, and they’ve never managed to find it.

Parkinson was unlucky in that one potential target got as far as the Academy of Light, only for the deal to go on the backburner due to fitness concerns.

What’s happened in that position over the last three windows, though, is not a great reflection of the club’s forward planning in the transfer window.

What is the situation with the salary cap and restrictions there?

Sunderland do have a little bit of room, both in terms of wages and the squad cap restrictions.

That’s why there will definitely be at least one addition in the coming weeks.

The reason why it’s more likely to be a free agent than a loan is that although Sunderland do have a bit of money to play with, the salary cap rules means it’s only a fraction of what Parkinson’s targets are earning on their current Championship/Premier League contracts.

Their parent clubs are therefore taking the view that they might as well keep those players, given the congested schedule and the prospect of injuries to their currently established options.

The salary cap has added an interesting dynamic to the summer and the arbitrary cap still seems to me to be the wrong to go about it entirely.

It has, though, underlined why Sunderland need to make better use of their Category One Academy.

That would have put them in a far stronger position both when the cap came in and the windows ahead.

The sales of the last two years have seemed even more short-sighted in that context.

Follow our live Sunderland AFC deadline day Q&A here:

How much business do you expect Sunderland to do today?

The most likely scenario is that Sunderland won’t do any incoming business today, and will bring in a free agent or two when the financial landscape in the division is looking a little clearer.

The only way that situation seems likely to change is, if, as outlined above, one of those clubs changed their stance on a player who Sunderland believe could lift the quality of the squad with the budget they currently possess.

What is the priority now, centre-back or left-back?

Parkinson would ideally like both, to give himself two options for every position on the pitch.

That’s what any club looking to be in the strongest possible position would do.

The main priority would now have to be at centre-back, where options are very limited for the next couple of months while Feeney recovers.

The left of defence is definitely an issue still, but Parkinson does have confidence in O’Nien to step across, or indeed Lynden Gooch to drop back into that role.

Any chance Aiden McGeady will find a new club? And if not, will he be back part of Phil Parkinson’s plans?

At this stage it seems unlikely.

It hasn’t helped that McGeady has had a calf problem for much of pre-season, which means his sharpness is behind where it would have been had he been able to train fully for the last couple of months.

He is now training with the U23s but Parkinson’s comments yesterday suggested he isn’t expecting a bidder.

It’s very different to the last window, where the Black Cats boss said along that he expected movement late on.

Parkinson believes other clubs are suffering the same problems as he is, namely uncertainty over budgets and problems with the salary cap.

You never know what will happen as clubs get nervous in the final hours, and McGeady always has a chance because of the individual quality we know he possesses.

Either way, the Black Cats boss has made clear there’ll be no change of policy even if he doesn’t leave.

This time he is drawing reference to the youngsters he wants to give opportunities to instead.

It’s going to be interesting to see whether that materialises over the course of the campaign and supporters will certainly be keeping a close eye on it.

Any other outgoings likely?

None are expected.

We’ve seen this final deadline day be used to get the club’s youngsters valuable loan moves previously, but that’s not expected to happen this time around.

Dan Neil and Jack Diamond will be given until January to try and force their way into the first-team thinking, and if not, it’s only at that point a loan will be considered.

It’s possible some of the U23s could be loaned out, but at this stage it’s unlikely when there is a big push to ensure that team remains competitive in Premier League 2.

Especially given some of the gaps we know about in the squad, Parkinson will also likely want to keep a close eye on any potential option he could have from that group.

Whilst accepting it is difficult, is this the most pointless window ever & why & how is Sunderland’s recruitment still so poor? Lack of planning means we are scratching around once again & in this window we look like we will fail to address the need to add pace & power up front

As you allude to, the salary cap restrictions and the circumstances surrounding the pandemic have definitely made the window more difficult not just for Sunderland, but for all clubs.

Then you have to throw in the turmoil behind the scenes.

Parkinson ultimately has control over transfers but it can never, ever be ideal to see your head of recruitment and your head of football operations (who negotiates with other clubs) depart right in the middle of the window.

The arrival of Jim Rodwell of course helped in that regard but moving forward, there are absolutely questions to be asked about the strength and depth of Sunderland’s recruitment team.

Tony Coton is still to be replaced and though Parkinson suggested this would be sorted as soon as there was clarity on fans returning, you suspect that has now shifted to when there is clarity on potential financial support.

It’s a huge issue for the club and one to keep a close eye on in the coming weeks and months.

As I alluded to earlier, Sunderland have been unlucky with injuries in defence but it’s fair to wonder why over a year since Reece James left for Doncaster, he still hasn’t really been replaced.

Up front is an interesting one and I do agree there’s a lack of pace.

It’s a difficult one to judge because there have been some good signs from Aiden O’Brien, who I think is a lively and intelligent player.

Danny Graham has also shown some quality and still isn’t fully match fit.

So I have hope for both of those moving forward, but a lack of pace and variety in the final third is without a doubt a concern.

There’s been some good signs this summer in terms of taking a bit more of a broad approach to recruitment in terms of data and untapped markets (as in Xhemajli’s arrival), while there’s also been a welcome focus on what academy talent can be given a chance.

There is definitely much to work on though and over two years on from Madrox’s arrival, it’s an utterly vital department that still seems to be underpowered.

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