Why Sunderland struggle to sign strikers explained and the hint of a change in approach this summer.
Sunderland’s search for a new striker continues to dominate the headlines in the summer transfer window
Around a year ago, we wrote a piece outlining why Sunderland find it difficult to sign strike and why the issue seems to dominate every transfer window.
12 months on and with a new Championship campaign now just a matter of days away, it’s still the issue generating the most headlines. Now Sunderland’s hierarchy might quickly retort that in the intervening period, they’ve actually signed four strikers and spent a fair bit of money doing so. So perhaps the better question this time around is, why do they find it so hard to get the striker they need?
The best starting point is to acknowledge that this isn’t an issue that is unique to Sunderland. Most supporters of Championship clubs would tell you that they need a proven number nine to transform their prospects for the season ahead and after conducting his post-match press conference on Saturday, Régis Le Bris pointed out that those at Marseille are saying exactly the same thing. The reality is that there is an increasingly small pool of strikers who you can rely on to consistently deliver goals. Part of that is probably because of the broader tactical trends in the game, where teams now rarely play with two up front. As such, strikers selected for their goalscoring output with little
concern for their wider limitations are increasingly rare. So too is the old-fashioned target forward, with the changes in the modern game meaning that the centre forward is increasingly expected to be mobile and capable of leading his side’s pressing game. Take a look at the top scorers in the Championship over the last few seasons. Yes, there is the occasional Aleksandar Mitrovic and Ivan Toney but the top ten is increasingly dominated by wide forwards or players who break into the box from slightly deeper roles.
This is a conundrum that Sunderland have consistently faced. They need a striker who is good enough inside the box to turn their dominance of games into goals and therefore points, but they don’t want to put a player into the side who detracts from their desire to press high and who can’t join in the quick link-up play around the box.
Those who can do both are rare and the consequence of that is that their price is driven up. These are the races that Sunderland are never likely to win as things stand, they simply aren’t up there with the biggest spender in the
division. They aren’t likely to compete with clubs just have been relegated from the Premier League, who have a staggeringly large in-built advantage as a result of parachute payments. Nor under their current model are they going to compete with significant disruptors such as Ipswich Town, who landed one the biggest deals of the last January window when they brought Kieffer Moore in from Bournemouth on loan – a deal Sunderland had initially been very keen to do. Ipswich’s success is a great example of those who would argue that Sunderland should invest heavily to
keep pace with those coming down from the Premier League, as once you reach the top tier the riches on offer deliver an immediate and vast return on that investment. Sunderland’s argument is that this is a high-risk approach, and that the second tier is littered with clubs who have had to cut their cloth rapidly or have actually been penalised for infringing the EFL’s financial rules. Both are hugely destabilising and explain why Sunderland are so reluctant to commit to long-term contracts and big fees for players whose resale value could be limited, and could be a significant drain on the club’s resources if the move doesn’t work out for whatever reason. The model they might like to follow
along the way would be Coventry City, whose vast profit generated on the sale of Viktor Gyokeres allowed them to sign Ellis Simms and Haji Wright in deals that would have previously likely been beyond their means. That could yet be the way forward for Sunderland if there is a major sale this summer, but every day closer to the end of the window that happens, the greater the risk is for the campaign ahead.
