The biggest Championship deals as Sunderland still face glaring issue a year on from £12m sale

The summer transfer window is rapidly approaching its closing stages and there is a strong feeling Sunderland’s main business is yet to be concluded.

Four new additions have been secured and, as it stands, not a penny has been spent in transfer fees after Preston North End midfielder Alan Browne, Leeds United winger Ian Poveda and goalkeeping duo Simon Moore and Blondy Nna Noukeu were snapped up on free transfer after their contracts with their former employers came to an end.

The main deficiency within the Black Cats ranks remains at the top end of the pitch. As it stands, new head coach Regis Le Bris will head into his first competitive fixture at Cardiff City on Saturday with Hemir, Eliezer Mayenda and Nazariy Rusin as his three out-and-out strikers. It would be a push to suggest any of the trio have been convincing during their time on Wearside, despite enjoying some all-too-rare positive moments. There is interest in Caen striker Alexandre Mendy and there now seems to be some agitating from the Guinea-Bissau international’s representatives, who labelled the situation regarding their client’s future at the Ligue 2 club as ‘a disgrace’.

With 65 goals and 11 assists in 142 appearances during his four-year stay at Caen, Mendy does provide two attributes Sunderland have not possessed in their frontline since the departure of Ross Stewart. Firstly, rather than pursuing a youngster with promise, Mendy would offer the Black Cats an experienced option at the top end of the pitch and, with an average of just under a goal in every three games during his career, he is certainly more prolific that his would-be rivals in the Sunderland side. The same can be said of another reported target, Ike Ugbo, who is set to join second tier rivals Sheffield Wednesday over the next 48 hours. Looking to find a raw talent to develop may well be the modus operandi of the current Black Cats owners - but there is a need to push for something a bit more proven if Sunderland are to move on from a rather underwhelming season last time out.

Recent reports suggested a six-figure offer for Mendy had been rejected by Caen and although the fact a bid was lodged shows a willingness to add an experienced frontman to the Black Cats squad, it also shows Sunderland are somewhat punching below their financial weight when compared to their rivals across the Championship.

As it stands, Burnley’s £14million addition of winger Mike Tresor and the £8m signing of defender Maxime Esteve are the most expensive additions made by a Championship club during the summer transfer window. They are closely followed by Leeds United’s double defensive additions of Joe Rodon and Jayden Bogle, who cost the Whites around £7.5m and £4m respectively. It should be added Leeds have also been forced into the sales of Archie Gray, Crysencio Summerville and Luis Sinisterra at a combined income in excess of £70m following their failure to secure an immediate return to the Premier League.

Of course, it should also be pointed out both Leeds and Hull are still benefitting from parachute payments following their recent relegations from the Premier League. However, the same can not be said of Coventry City and Hull City, who have secured respective deals for Huddersfield Town midfielder Jack Rudoni and Luton Town full-back Ryan Giles for fees in excess of £3.5m. Middlesbrough and Bristol City are also believed to have spent fees of around £3m on new signings this summer too. Coventry’s recent capture of Brandon Thomas-Asante from West Bromwich Albion and Bristol City’s addition of QPR’s Sinclair Armstrong were worth almost treble was Sunderland reportedly offered for Mendy.

Of course, recent history, or recent for those of us of a certain age, will show Sunderland have gained some spectacular success with spending modest fees on strikers. Indeed, one of the most prolific frontmen in the club’s history cost an initial fee of around just £325,000 and Kevin Phillips’ move to Wearside provoked a stunning goalscoring return as the Black Cats icon plundered his way to 130 goals in 235 appearances and became a European Golden Boot winner. Even Stewart, who bagged 40 goals in 80 appearances, cost just £300,000 when he joined from Ross County in January 2021.

It would be near-impossible to find another Kevin Phillips or Ross Stewart in this current financial climate - but the summer spending by some of their Championship rivals this summer does indicate Sunderland may well need to give a little more if they are to provide Regis Le Bris with an experienced, proven and prolific striker that all of Wearside craves.