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Sunderland: Phil Smith believes striker transfer plans now accelerating
Journalist Phil Smith has admitted that Sunderland have stepped up their pursuit of a new striker following Ellis Simms’ departure.
The Lowdown: Striker a priority
The news of Simms being recalled by Everton may well have come as a shock to Sunderland given that the striker was performing well on Wearside.
And considering Simms had only previously started a single Premier League game and managed just seven Championship goals this season, for Everton to see him as the answer to their striker woes is interesting.
However, Sunderland don’t appear to be dwelling over the loss of Simms, as they still have Ross Stewart and are being linked with new strikers such as Jerry Yates and Jonson Clarke-Harris.
The Latest: Sunderland accelerating transfer hunt
Smith has been speaking on The Roar podcast about how Simms leaving has forced the club into stepping up their search for a new attacker this transfer window.
“Simms had been the perfect signing, really. He’d covered for Stewart when Stewart wasn’t available, he’d supported Stewart in games, he’d been exactly what you would have wanted from that sort of slot in the squad, if you like.
“But you would hope that given, as we said, that this is always a possibility, that there’s been some planning done in terms of who they might identify.
“Speaking to Mowbray after the [Blackpool] game, he said that discussions had accelerated since Simms had gone. He said there was possibly a loan in the works; there was possibly a signing for a youngster on a permanent deal.
“So it seems as if Sunderland, although it did come out of the blue, they haven’t been caught completely cold by this.”
The Verdict: Mowbray needs another striker
It’s no secret that Sunderland have to bring in some form of striker this month as they only have Stewart currently on their books in that position – and even he has been linked with a move away in the near future, so they could be left with nobody able to play through the middle in a worst-case scenario.
Stewart has indeed had injury problems that have restricted him to just nine league starts this season, and if they reoccur, Tony Mowbray will need to have a good enough deputy to call upon.
That is why Simms was such a great option, as he was young enough to willingly sit behind Stewart at times and learn from him, but when called upon, he could hold his own, which was shown by his seven goals and two assists in the Championship, so finding his replacement won’t be simple.
