Are Sunderland stronger or weaker coming out of the January transfer window?

The January transfer window is done and dusted, and there is a lot to analyse from a Sunderland point of view.

Author:
Michael Graham
Publish date:
Feb 1, 2023 7:51 AM EST

The transfer window has been and gone, and it has left many of us Sunderland fans feeling deflated. It's hard not to, right?

Deadline day was an excruciating exercise in watch the clock relentlessly tick down while a wall of crushing silence came out of the club.

There were big holes in the squad to fill and they failed to do it. There will be reasons for that and the club communicate well nowadays, so it's likely we'll hear them soon enough.

For now though, let's answer the all-important question: Are Sunderland stronger or weaker as the emerge from the January transfer window?

Goalkeepers

It’s the one area that hasn’t changed, and it wasn’t likely to either. There were some calls for some quality experienced back-up to be found for Anthony Patterson, but that was never on the cards.

Patterson is firmly the number one now and Sunderland have completely committed to him. He will be allowed his mistakes without too much pressure put on him.

It’s also a tough sell to get a quality goalkeeper to come and be back-up. They want to play, and when Sunderland look at Patterson, they see they goalkeeper he could be in three years time, not the one today.

However, he’s not going to get there without playing a lot of games, so someone to come in and potentially reduce his minutes was never really a consideration. Long term, Sunderland will see the benefit of that decision.

Short-term result: Unchanged
Long-term result: Stronger

Defence

It was a case of one in and one out in defence, so it’s quite an easy analysis to make.

Joe Anderson arrived from Everton and Bailey Wright left for Rotherham. That’s swapping a very reliable, experienced, proven player with a big unknown quantity who has never played a senior game in his career.

I have to stress that I haven’t seen Anderson play, though, so I can’t comment on his current quality. However, it’s hard not to conclude that – in the here and now – the Sunderland defence has been weakened over January.

The obvious caveat is that in the long-term, it has probably been improved. Anderson has a higher ceiling than Wright’s current level, just as Aji Alese does. As he accumulates appearances, Sunderland will likely find they have a better player on their hands.

For right now, though, the next 18 Championship games, it feels like the defensive ranks have been weakened over January.

Short-term result: Weaker
Long-term result: Stronger

Midfield

Like with the defence, it was one in and one out in midfield. Jay Matete left on loan to Plymouth and he was replaced in the squad by Pierre Ekwah.

We got a glimpse of Ekwah at Fulham and he looked like he had a lot of promise. He could move the ball, he was a big physical presence, mobile, and some left-footed balance in the squad is always nice to have.

However, like Anderson he is still a big unknown quantity in terms of first-team football and however good he is, there will be a learning curve. Patience will be required.

Of course, its important to remember that Sunderland haven’t swapped Matete for Ekwah. In a few months they are going to have both, and Matete will likely be much better off for half a season of regular football.

So long-term, Sunderland should be better off for their January transfer dealings. Again, though, short-term is another story.

Although Corry Evans did not leave, he might as well have. His anterior cruciate ligament injury will keep him out a long time and he will not be back in time for pre-season training. It will likely be close to a year before he is ready to return.

Sunderland knew that going into the last week of January and chose not to replace his experience and defensive instincts.

That might be addressed in the summer, or simply by time with the younger players already at the club improving over the next few months.

For now though, the midfield definitely looks weaker, even if the longer-term prospects look to have improved. What is vital to stress, though, is that the midfield has been weakened by injury, not transfers.

Short-term result: Weaker
Long-term result: Stronger

Attack

Let’s put the strikers aside for now – and I acknowledge I am playing fast and loose with the plural there.

Leon Dajaku, who wasn’t playing, left on loan and Isaac Lihadji, who may not play much for now, replaced him on a long-term deal. Perhaps the most important thing, though, was that Amad Diallo wasn’t recalled by Manchester United.

The attack is probably the one area of the Sunderland squad you look at and see a huge amount of strength. Including Abdoullah Ba, who Tony Mowbray sees as an attacking midfielder for know while he learns some positional discipline, there are probably eight strong options for three positions. One of them, Elliot Embleton, is currently injured though.

Amad, Patrick Roberts and Jack Clarke appear to have the positions nailed down for now, but Alex Pritchard, Jewison Bennette, Lihadji, Ba and Embleton are excellent options too.

Of course, next season Amad will be gone, and that will be a huge blow. Whether Sunderland are impacted long-term by that will depend on Isaac Lihadji and how well he does. There is going to be an impact from Amad leaving regardless because he is that good, but the Frenchman could minimise it.

Dajaku will be back next season too, and it will be interesting to see how he develops at FC St Gallen. Jack Diamond will likely be a different player after being a star-turn for Lincoln this season.

Lihadji looks a better option than Dajaku right now, so the position is improved for the short-term. Long-term it appears largely unchanged, but it was looking very strong there regardless.

Short-term result: Stronger
Long-term result: Unchanged

Striker

Let’s not beat around the bush here: Sunderland are weaker up front now than they were going into the January transfer window.

That might be down to injury, with Ross Stewart out for the season with an Achilles problem, but it’s not like the club didn’t know about that.

They have essentially replaced Ellis Simms with Joe Gelhardt, who is a very strong replacement and arguably an improvement.

The problem is that two strikers wasn’t enough before and even had Stewart not got injured it wouldn’t be enough now either.

It’s also fair to say that the position is looking weaker too. Gelhardt will leave in the summer leaving the club with just one striker on the books. That striker will have not played for months and, unless something changes soon, be inside the last 12 months of his contract.

The failure to strengthen the striker position is a huge blemish on the otherwise impressive record of the Sunderland recruitment team.

Short-term result: Weaker
Long-term result: Weaker

Overall

It’s hard to not conclude that, in the short-term certainly, Sunderland are weaker coming out of January than they were going into it.

The defence and midfield both look worse off for now and the striker situation appears horrendously precarious. Much of that is down to injuries, but not injuries the club didn’t know about.

The longer-term looks more promising with the January additions, but we’ll have to wait to see if it actually works out that way.

Overall, it is what it is, but it shouldn’t negate by any measure the many entirely positive things we have to enjoy about the club and the squad right now.