Sunderland Echo to host January transfer window Q&A with SAFC writer Phil Smith - and we want your questions
The Sunderland Echo will host a January transfer window Q&A next week.
The January transfer window is finally open - and Sunderland are expected to be involved in deals both in and out this month.
Fresh from the goalless draw with Man City at the Stadium of Light on New Year’s Day, attention and focus will now turn to the small matter of improving and reshaping the Sunderland squad this month as the busy fixture period continues. Sunderland face two away trips in the Premier League this week, with Tottenham Hotspur away on Sunday followed by another trip to London to face Brentford on Wednesday evening.
On the transfer front, Sunderland are set to bolster their squad this month though it won’t be anywhere near the same level of quantity that club chiefs signed in a busy summer transfer window following promotion from the Championship.
To give Echo subscribers an in-depth update on the transfer front we will be hosting a Q&A with chief Sunderland AFC writer Phil Smith next week - and we’d love to hear your questions. Click this link and leave your question on the form. Would you like to hear about Sunderland’s plans to strengthen the squad? How much is likely to be spent? How much money will the club be spending? Which fringe players could leave the club? Which youngsters are set for a loan spell away from Wearside? We’d love to hear from you.
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Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris wouldn’t be drawn on which positions specifically the club were targeting when asked prior to the City clash and added that the unique demands of the winter window meant being flexible as a club is key. But there is business expected to be done, with a number of fringe players also likely to be moved on this month.
What has Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris said about the January transfer window?
Régis Le Bris says Sunderland still hope to strengthen ‘two or three’ spots in the squad but doesn’t anticipate any early business in the January transfer window.
The Black Cats want to build on an outstanding first half of the season by improving the squad further, but are eager not to upset the balance and spirit of the dressing room. Le Bris says the club are working hard behind the scenes to identify and assess targets but added that they will only move if the right target becomes available.
He again, as he has done in recent weeks, stressed that the club would not rush.
“I don't think we'll rush this process, because we are in a good place, I think, and it's really important to find the right player to fit with our system, so it's always a question of different elements, because you have the player, you have the club, you have us, and so it's not an easy task, we'll see,” Le Bris said.
“When we say two or three spots in the squad, that means that our focus is orientated on these positions. But we don't know if we will find the right targets. So you know that maybe you can reinforce this part of the squad, this part, this part. At the end, maybe we will have zero, or one, or two, or three. We don't know, because it's connected as well with the outgoing players. So we'll see.”