Sunderland boss appears to rule out strengthening full-back positions in January

Michael Beale appears to have ruled out Sunderland strengthening the full-back positions in January despite losing Niall Huggins to a serious injury.

Huggins had been one of the Black Cats’ performers of the season until an awkward fall late in the defeat to Coventry.

That fall has resulted in knee surgery that will put him out for the rest of the season at least, but with Timothee Pembele, Aji Alese and Dennis Cirkin all returning from injury and Jenson Seelt and Trai Hume already performing, Beale is confident he has strength in those positions.

Asked about Pembele, who made his debut from the bench in the 1-1 draw against Rotherham, Beale said: "I haven't had a chance to see a lot of him.

“We've only had two or three sessions, so I'm learning a lot about him.

"Jenson hadn't played 90 minutes for a long while, and he did fantastic at Hull, I thought he was one of the picks of our players. We knew that going 60 or 70 minutes [at Rotherham], we'd have to rotate that.

"The game was asking for it as well. I haven't seen much of Timothee, but we've got him, Aji [Alese] is now fit and Dennis [Cirkin] is back in training as well.

"Losing Niall Huggins was a blow, but I think we're blessed in the full-back positions. I think we've got three or four outstanding young full-backs."

Despite apparently not looking for full-backs, Sunderland are expected to be active in January with a striker top of their shopping list.

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