Sunderland's transfer priorities as Tony Mowbray holds recruitment talks ahead of January window

Black Cats boss Tony Mowbray was involved in a recruitment meeting last week, when discussions took place about which positions the club needs to strengthen.

As the head coach Mowbray’s main focus has been on the training pitches, while the 58-year-old has admitted he hasn’t yet seen Sunderland’s full list of possible targets.

Those conversations will take place in the coming weeks as Mowbray becomes more involved in the recruitment process, and it’s clear there are still some key areas which need addressing.

We’ve taken a closer look at some of Sunderland’s transfer priorities

Strengthening up front

It’s been obvious for some time that Sunderland left themselves short of strikers in the summer.

Injuries to Ross Stewart and Ellis Simms meant the Black Cats had to play without a natural centre-forward for over a month. If just one had been available, it’s no exaggeration to say Sunderland could be in a play-off position heading into the World Cup break.

After the end of the summer window Sporting Director Kristjaan Speakman said the club were recruiting to play with a 4-3-3 system, hence the reason another striker wasn’t brought in.

Yet by the second match of the season Sunderland were playing with a front two of Simms and Stewart. It was a tactic which was always unlikely to be sustainable with just two recognised strikers in the squad.

It was also well documented the club were trying to re-sign Nathan Broadhead from Everton, before he instead signed for Championship rivals Wigan.

When that move fell through it was understandable that Sunderland didn’t want to just sign a short-term option for the sake of it. If the right player wasn’t available then maybe it was better to wait.

Still, the lack of a third striker has clearly cost them in the first part of the campaign.

Keeping their best assets – or have alternatives lined up

The other caveat Sunderland are aware of is Stewart’s contract situation, after the club were keen to tie him down to a long-term deal in the summer.

As it stands, the Black Cats have an option to extend the Scot’s current deal by an extra year until the summer of 2024, yet the striker’s value will obviously decrease if he doesn’t sign a new deal.

Sunderland owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus recently said at a supporters meeting that conversations with Stewart are ongoing and that plan A is to keep the forward.

Still, Louis-Dreyfus went on to admit the club must “plan for all eventualities so that we're not in a situation where we are panicking and don't know what we're doing.”

That means Sunderland will need to have potential replacements for Stewart in mind, as they did when they signed the Scot, who became the Black Cats’ first-choice striker when Charlie Wyke left the club.

At this month’s supporters meeting Speakman also said that all areas of the squad would be under review, while the club will have potential targets in every position.

There has also been reported interest in some of Sunderland’s other first-team players, including Dennis Cirkin and Dan Neil, and it’s likely there will be a time when the club have to sell one of their prized assets.

The challenge will then be getting the best fee possible and finding a suitable replacement.

Addressing the midfield balance

Assuming Sunderland manage to keep their key players in January, there are still other positions which clearly need strengthening.

Since the end of last season it’s been clear there is a lack of alternatives should captain Corry Evans become unavailable, even if there are several central midfielders in the squad.

Fortunately Evans, 32, has only missed two of 20 league games this campaign, yet the side struggled when he started on the bench against Cardiff earlier this month.

Neil, Jay Matete, Abdoullah Ba and Edouard Michut are all talented, young footballers, yet none of them have shown they could bring the same defensive security and positional awareness that Evans offers.

Whether one of the aforementioned players could grow into that role remains to be seen, yet it still feels like Sunderland need another option.

Adding more depth at full-back

Over the last 12 months Sunderland have looked short of options at left-back, where there has been far too much reliance placed on Cirkin.

While the 20-year-old is proving to be an excellent signing, this is still only his second season as a senior player. He’s already made 55 first-team appearances for the Black Cats.

Aji Alese’s performances at left-back showed Sunderland do have a capable alternative if Cirkin is unavailable, yet there may be games when Mowbray wants to switch to a back three and play them both – as the head coach did in the 2-1 win over Wigan last month.

Niall Huggins’ return from injury, after a year on the sidelines, should give the squad more cover at full-back, while Trai Hume will hope he can challenge Lynden Gooch for the right-back position.

Still, while Sunderland recruited to play with a certain 4-3-3 system in the summer, we’ve seen how quickly things can change.

That doesn’t mean the side’s style has to significantly change their preferred style of play, yet there are games which require a change of system.

Sunderland should therefore plan accordingly so the squad is ready for the different challenges ahead.