Sunderland transfers: The five key pre-season questions that could have a big impact on business

Sunderland return for pre-season training later this month with two new additions already secured.

The squad for next season is likely to be more settled than it has been for some time, but there will still be some key questions for Tony Mowbray to weigh up through pre-season as the club decide what they need to do in the last stages of the window.

Here, we run through five of those in depth…

How is the Sunderland injury situation looking for the start of the campaign?

If all of Sunderland’s injured players are in good order ahead of the start of the new campaign, then Mowbray has a very solid base to work from.

Dennis Cirkin and Aji Alese will give the left side of defence a strong look, Dan Ballard and Danny Batth will be regulars, Elliot Embleton will add versatility and depth across the midfield and forward positions. Likewise Jewison Bennette on the left flank. 

With Luis Semedo expected to join imminently, alongside Ross Stewart there will be a strong starting point up front (albeit, one more would almost certainly be one more needed).

The uncertainty over Stewart is not just how quickly his achilles injury will fully clear, but also whether there will be any movement over his contract situation in the months ahead.

How these players come through pre-season could have a major impact on some of the more short-term decisions Sunderland make through the closing weeks of the window. 

One player almost certain to be sidelined with injury until some way into the season is Corry Evans, who suffered a major ACL injury in January. Which brings us onto the next question…

Where does Tony Mowbray see Dan Neil playing next season?

Neil was handed the fairly daunting role of replacing Evans in front of the defence, and to his immense credit, it was one he was fulfilling with impressive consistency by the end of the campaign though.

While he will likely be deployed in a variety of roles next season as his development continues, whether Mowbray wants to keep him in a deep position or bring his dangerous forward passing much further forward will guide how Sunderland recruit. With Jobe Bellingham signed, it could be that Neil does continue to develop primarily as a six.

Either way, Evans’ injury means more cover is surely needed.

Is Jay Matete set to take a full place in the first team squad?

Matete’s loan to Plymouth Argyle was a major success, he featured regularly in a highly-pressurised environment and for a side playing a progressive brand of football. 

It’s an experience that will serve him well in his career, but the short-term question for Sunderland is whether he is ready to feature more regularly in the Championship.

He made big contributions for Plymouth, though was not always in the starting XI. With Bellingham’s arrival, competition is already fairly fierce.

Elsewhere in the squad it seems likely that the signing of Nectarios Triantis will give Joe Anderson the chance to get valuable senior experience on loan, but Mowbray will most likely want to work closely with him for a good chunk of pre-season.

How is Niall Huggins faring?

The plan for Huggins having been out for so long was to take the final stages of the season steadily, ensuring he would be fully fit for what will be a vital pre-season.

So that he was able to appear in the play-off campaign put him a touch ahead of schedule and in a really good position for the summer ahead.

Given the length of his recent absences he can’t be considered a contender to start regularly next season but if he is able to dip in and out, it would leave the full-back positions looking set if as seems likely, Lynden Gooch continues primarily at right back.

Will Isaac Lihadji be ready to step into Amad’s shoes this season?

Sunderland’s thrilling end to the season will live long in the memory but it also forced something of a change to Mowbray’s plans, meaning that Isaac Lijadhi rarely got the game time that could have given the head coach an indication about how ready he is for regular Championship football.

And that made sense: when you need wins to potentially seal promotion to the Premier League - how can you take off Amad or Patrick Roberts?

Roberts will be expected to take on a large amount of Amad’s output from last season, but he can’t do it alone.

Pre-season is going to be a vital period for the Black Cats to see where they’re happy with their options in the wide areas, or whether they feel they need to recruit further.

Mowbray, for his part, indicated towards the end of the campaign that he expected the winger to step forward, telling The Echo: "I think when he starts football matches and plays for an hour or so, fans will see a really good footballer who can make things happen for the team. 

“He's just been a bit short [of action] because it's difficult with players like Clarke and Amad and Roberts [to take them off] because they're contributing and giving you that feeling that they are going to score, to create something.

"He plays in a position where we've been really strong and so he just has to be patient. Early on in the season, there's no issue with rotating a little in a three-game week, so a Clarke or a Roberts can sit on the bench and he can get a go. Or in other games he can come on after an hour and hopefully make something happen for us.

"Hopefully he can be a success at this club and I think fans are going to be excited by his talent once he gets going."