Sunderland AFC transfer and injury news RECAP: Team news ahead of crunch Ipswich Town League One clash

Sunderland host Ipswich Town at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, with Lee Johnson and his squad in need of a win.
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The Black Cats’ promotion hopes have been hit in recent weeks following a poor run of form in the league and Johnson knows a win is required on Wearside this Saturday afternoon.

We will have all the build-up to the game throughout the week, with Johnson set to face the media in a few days time.

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Meanwhile, the EFL have outlined how the Qatar World Cup could impact Sunderland's 2022/23 campaign.

Sunderland AFC blog.Sunderland AFC blog.
Sunderland AFC blog.

The World Cup has been moved to a winter slot due to the high temperatures of the host nation, and the league schedule has been adjusted to accommodate the five-week competition.

To begin with, all three leagues will kick off a week earlier than usual, with the first slate of league fixtures set to take place on the weekend beginning July 30th.

The Championship will pause after the round of fixtures beginning November 12th, with the call-up period for all selected players beginning the following Monday.

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The second tier will pause for around a month, resuming on December 10th, after the group stages of the World Cup finish.

Leagues One and Two will continue as normal through that period, though standard international call-up rules will remain in place.

We’ll have the latest Sunderland news throughout the day ahead of the weekend’s big game at the Stadium of Light.

Sunderland have just had a free weekend due to the international break.

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Live Sunderland AFC blog: Transfer and injury news

Key Events

  • Sunderland are busy preparing for the visit of Ipswich Town
  • Lee Johnson is under pressure to get a win after a poor run of form in League One
  • Juan Santori becomes vice-president at Monaco

Jack Diamond has been back on Wearside this week

Jack Diamond has made a brief return to Wearside this week as Sunderland monitor the progress of their talented winger.

Diamond, currently on loan at Harrogate Town, has trained with the first-team squad in the early part of this week, giving Lee Johnson the chance to run the rule closely over a player he believes has a major long-term future at the club.

Diamond has been in excellent form for Harrogate, with three goals and two assists from his 11 League Two appearances so far this season.

New date for Oxford

Sunderland will play their postponed game against Oxford United at the Stadium of Light on December 4th.

The Saturday 3pm slot has become available due to both sides being knocked out of the FA Cup in the first round.

The game was initially postponed in September due to international call ups, and solves one of Sunderland’s fixture headaches.

Oxford United were knocked out of the FA Cup on Tuesday night, despite leading 3-1 against Bristol Rovers in the early stages of extra time in their replay.

Three late goals secured a place in the second round for Joey Barton’s side, with Karl Robinson furious with his side.

The latest on Sunderland’s director sightings over the weekend from our SAFC writer Phil Smith: https://www.sunderlandecho.com/sport/football/sunderland-afc/the-lessons-of-the-past-that-sunderland-afc-and-kyril-louis-dreyfus-must-heed-as-fans-ask-for-clarity-over-madrox-involvement-3459639

Contract talks on hold for Owls striker

Darren Moore has revealed talks with Sheffield Wednesday striker Callum Paterson over a new deal have stalled with the Scotsman’s contract set to expire at the end of next season.

Paterson has featured 16 times for the Owls this season scoring two goals but reports from The Star suggest that Moore and Paterson have agreed to shelve talks for the time being.

“The contract talks have been there but we’re in a position where both club and player agree he’s still contracted to the football club beyond this season,” Moore said.

“For both parties, it’s about carefully making sure the right decision is made but in terms of the long or short term he has this season and next year at the football club.”

Paterson moved to Hillsborough from Cardiff City last year and has made 61 appearances scoring 11 goals in total. The 27-year-old featured in the Owls 3-0 win over Sunderland earlier this month and will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of Josh Windass, Liam Palmer and Barry Bannan in signing new deals with the club.

Flanagan part of ’Italian masterclass’

Sunderland defender Tom Flanagan was part of the Northern Ireland defence who produced a “typical Italian masterclass” according to Italy assistant manager, and former Chelsea striker, Gianluca Vialli.

Flanagan and his international teammates frustrated the European champions to hold them to a goalless draw in Belfast and condemn the Italians to the World Cup qualifying play-offs.

And Northern Ireland manager Ian Baraclough revealed Vialli was very complimentary of his side.

“At the end, Gianluca Vialli had a few words and said that was a typical Italian masterclass defensive performance, so I’ll take that and the boys can be proud of that.

“To be compared to a performance they can normally churn out, you know you’re probably doing something right.”

Black Cats defender Flanagan played the full 90 minutes, while midfielder Corry Evans came on as a sub.

Santori appointed vice-president at Monaco

Johnson has this message for squad players after cup performances

Alex Pritchard believes the Stadium of Light crowd can play a big part when Sunderland return to action against Ipswich this weekend.

The Black Cats have lost three successive league games following a promising start to the campaign, with recent results raising concerns on Wearside.

Yet Sunderland have lost just one of their seven league matches at home this season and, while admitting the team’s last few performances haven’t been good enough, Pritchard still has belief in the squad.

“Obviously it’s a difficult moment and we all know it but you can’t just be negative and need to be positive,” said the playmaker.

“We are a good team and have some fantastic players in that dressing room, we know that but we need to show it.

“Ipswich at home is massive for us.

“Look we need to get a win, we need to get a win from somewhere and hopefully it’s against Ipswich in the league.

“We need to get back to winning ways and give something for the fans to cheer about and get us back in a good environment again.”

Details revealed ahead of next season

The EFL have outlined how the Qatar World Cup could impact Sunderland’s 2022/23 campaign.

The World Cup has been moved to a winter slot due to the high temperatures of the host nation, and the league schedule has been adjusted to accommodate the five-week competition.

To begin with, all three leagues will kick off a week earlier than usual, with the first slate of league fixtures set to take place on the weekend beginning July 30th.

The Championship will pause after the round of fixtures beginning November 12th, with the call-up period for all selected players beginning the following Monday.

The second tier will pause for around a month, resuming on December 10th, after the group stages of the World Cup finish.

Leagues One and Two will continue as normal through that period, though standard international call-up rules will remain in place.

That means that any side who have three or more players called up will be able to postpone any of their league fixtures during the competition.

Hello and welcome to our live Sunderland blog, we’ll have updates throughout the day ahead of the visit of Ipswich Town to the Stadium of Light on Saturday.