Transfer developments, selection clarity and injury frustration: Sunderland AFC talking points

Sunderland ended their pre-season campaign with a disappointing defeat to Hartlepool United.

Phil Smith runs through the key talking points, on and off the pitch..

A CHASTENING NIGHT - SO SHOULD WE BE WORRIED?

It definitely wasn't a night when you'd have expected the most fluid or convincing Sunderland performance. They were operating with a 3-5-2 system you rarely see them deploy, and outside of the centre-halves the vast majority of players were out of position.

The purpose of this game was not to fine-tune tactics for the new campaign, but to top up the match fitness of those who may well be needed in the opening league games either from the bench or due to a late injury. To that end, Saturday's game was clearly more relevant to Ipswich Town's visit and for the most part, Sunderland delivered a good display against Real Mallorca.

Mowbray conceded that his positional changes had an impact on performance here (Niall Huggins, for example, is highly unlikely to ever play central midfield in the second tier and improved considerably when moved to full back at 3-1 down), and also said that some of the concentration lapses probably wouldn't happen in a competitive environment.

Still, the performance clearly fell well short of what you would expect. Sunderland lost the physical battle and were outrun for the vast majority of the first half. That left Mowbray unimpressed, and apologetic to the Sunderland fans who had travelled in numbers to watch the game.

Most of these players will have the chance to make amends in the first round of the Carabao Cup next weekend, and it'll be one they need to take. With a couple of weeks still to run in the transfer window, there could be some conversations about strength in depth if not.

STARTING XI FOR IPSWICH TOWN LOOKS ALL BUT SET

While eager not to get carried away with the defeat, Mowbray also made clear that it had left him with few selection dilemmas for the start of the season on Sunday.

While the XI for Ipswich's visit was always likely to be very similar to the one that faced Mallorca, there was a last chance here to force a rethink. It's hard to make a case that anyone has really knocked the door down.

That's a touch harsh on some players, with Lynden Gooch forced into a very unfamiliar holding midfield role after Hartlepool's third goal. Playing as central strikers was never likely to unlock the best of either Abdoullah Ba or Jewison Bennette, either.

The one player who probably did themselves no harm was Alex Pritchard, who scored an excellent free kick and has delivered consistently good performances throughout the pre-season programme. Jobe Bellingham appears to have the edge for the weekend, but that looks right now to be Mowbray's toughest decision. His other key call will be whether Dennis Cirkin is fit enough to start, having made just one pre-season appearance.

ISAAC LIHADJI'S SUNDERLAND CAREER HEADING FOR PREMATURE END?

Lihadji had been expected to start against Hartlepool United but Mowbray confirmed afterwards that he had been withdrawn late in the day as a possible exit nears.

Interest from Qatar was reported by L'Equipe a few weeks back but only now appears to have progressed to the point where all parties have a big decision to make.

It would be a disappointing exit if it happens, the winger arrived with real hope that he could emerge as a long-term replacement for Amad.

While he has had regular minutes through pre season, he hasn't really been able to grasp that opportunity to kick on and is it stands there appears to be little pressure on Patrick Roberts' place in the side.

If it's a deal that works for Sunderland, and allows Lihadji to play regularly on a potentially lucrative deal, then it's probably the most sensible option at this point. But it will surely require another attacking addition before the window shuts, with those options in the wide areas already looking a little less robust given Amad's return to Manchester United.

NATHAN BISHOP ARRIVES - AND JUST IN TIME

A deal to add Nathan Bishop on a permanent deal is understood to now be done, and not before time.

16-year-old Matty Young has been understudy to Anthony Patterson in recent weeks and has done well, but suffered a suspected concussion while making an impressive save in the first half here. Bishop should be ready to step onto the bench for Ipswich's visit this weekend, and it would be no surprise to see him make his debut alongside Bradley Dack against Crewe Alexandra next Tuesday.

MORE INJURY FRUSTRATION FOR MOWBRAY

There had been some hope that Jenson Seelt might be able to get some minutes over the course of the last two games, potentially clearing the way for him to take his place in the squad this weekend.

While there is no major issue, he is still having problems with his ankle and so Mowbray expects him to be missing for another couple of weeks. Given Jay Matete's extended absence with a knee issue, it's meant a pre-season of more injury frustration for the head coach who now doesn't quite have the anticipated strength in depth in every position.

There's no major long-term concern here, and it probably underlines the general importance of Danny Batth in the squad for now.

One positive from the night, strange as it may sound given the scoreline and that it was his loose pass that led to Hartlepool's fifth, was that Nectar Triantis showed he has real talent. He likes a challenge, definitely has pace and got an assist with a good, ambitious through ball for Jewison Bennette.