Sunderland transfer latest: What Tony Mowbray said about potential signings, Corry Evans injury and Fulham

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Tony Mowbray’s pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup match against Fulham.

The Black Cats boss is set to speak to the media at 12:30pm, and there is bound to be plenty on the agenda with less that a week remaining in the January transfer window.

We’ll have live updates from the Academy of Light throughout the day.

We’ll start with Sunderland’s transfer situation.

The Black Cats made their first signing of the month earlier this week as midfielder Pierre Ekwah joined on a permanent deal from West Ham.

Improving their striker options remains a key priority for Sunderland ahead of next Tuesday’s deadline, with both loan and permanent deals being assessed.

The Black Cats are still monitoring Ellis Simms’ situation at Everton and have expressed an interest in a loan move for Leeds forward Joe Gelhardt, but face strong competition for the latter.

Like Ekwah, Sunderland have been looking to sign more young players on permanent deals with Genk striker Andras Nemeth Lille winger and Isaac Lihadji both on the club’s radar.

Reports in France have suggested a deal for Lihadji could be completed soon.

Mowbray said last week that he could welcome back some of his injured players this week.

Aji Alese returned to the starting XI against Middlesbrough last week, while Dennis Cirkin has been sidelined since the win over Blackburn on Boxing Day but has returned to training.

Alex Pritchard has also been absent with a calf issue but isn’t expected to be out long term.

Corry Evans was forced off in the win over Middlesbrough and is now expected to be unavailable for the foreseeable future.

Luke O’Nien is still suspended for the Fulham match while Elliot Embleton remains unavailable with a long-term injury setback.

We’ll get a further update from Mowbray later today.

This is a big blow.

Sunderland have confirmed captain Corry Evans is expected to miss the remainder of the season after suffering damage to his anterior cruciate ligament.

The 32-year-old was forced off with the issue during Sunday’s 2-0 win over Middlesbrough, when he was replaced by Edouard Michut after just 11 minutes at the Stadium of Light.

Evans has been a key player for Tony Mowbray’s side this season, starting 24 of the Black Cats’ 28 Championship fixtures.

“First and foremost it’s a blow for Corry.

“He’s been amazing at this club since he came and has been central. I had Corry at Blackburn for four years and it coincided when he came here that fortunes may have maybe turned. The club had been trying for three or four years to get out of League One.

“Corry is just a really professional footballer who understands his job, does his work everyday and sets the standards in the dressing room.

“I’m sure he will maintain that being around the place, obviously he will be in the treatment room for a while, but he will still set the standard in the dressing room and I have no fears he’ll be back stronger and be helping us in the future.”

“I think it’s a big loss for the football club, not just the team on the pitch.

“I think what happens is when a void comes, somebody else has to fill the void and we have senior players who can do that I’m sure.

“Their natural human qualities come to the fore and somebody else will fill the void I’m sure.”

“We’ve had some initial, just the last day, we’ve had some initial conversations and have to wait and see how it impacts the other stuff we might be trying to do.

“We tried to bring in extra competition with Pierre and Edouard and now the news about Corry, does it change the dynamics? It’s not something we were thinning we needed and were pushing on with other areas of the pitch.

“We have a few days to potentially look at it and if something can be done we’ll wait and see. I don’t sit here thinking everything has stopped and we are now focusing on that.

“Watching Pierre today training he looks to me like he’s full of energy, has a lovely left foot, brings good balance to the squad. It’s just that he hasn’t played a first-team game.

“That’s not really a replacement. He was brought in to supplement the good players, the likes of Corry and Dan Neil, Edouard. We have to be careful we don’t end up with a load of kid playing in central midfield and a crucial position of the team.”

“He doesn’t do what Corry does.

“He doesn’t have discipline, sit behind the ball and break up counter attacks.

“He is a footballer who wants to get on the ball, make passes, drive with the ball and run with the ball and get in and around the box.

“He’s a young boy and it’s very difficult to bring natural discipline that comes with 400 games in a career.

“With total respect for Pierre he’s not really a replacement for Corry and we brought him in to supplement midfield.

“We will have to see over the next few days bring to see if there is an opportunity to bring in a similar type of footballer as Corry or not.”

“What I do know is people behind the scenes are working really, really hard. We get an update every night and every morning about conversations that are going on.

“Deals are not easy to do and teams wanting to loan players out or sell players are always wanting top,top dollar. If you are the buying club you want to do it in a cost-effective manner and it’s a balance.

“No deals are easy deals unless you have so much cash it doesn’t matter.

“We are trying to grow the club, bring in young players who can help us in the future.

“If we can find the right player who can help us today for the next 18 games that would also be helpful, but not at the expense of the young players we have brought and are trying to polish up who are trying to make it as Sunderland AFC footballers long term.”