Sunderland brought in three players during the transfer window but sanctioned a significant number of departures
Sunderland fans came into deadline day by and large calm but hopeful perhaps of a little experience and depth in a couple of key positions where injury or suspension could leave Régis Le Bris vulnerable between now and the end of the season.
In what feels like a neat encapsulation of what it has felt like to follow the Black Cats over the last 12 months, they were instead given another immensely talented left winger who they knew little about coming into the day. If this sounds like criticism, then it absolutely is not. The story of Sunderland's January transfer window is how little they needed to do, a reflection of how spectacularly successful their summer investment had been. They arrived at deadline day able to pursue a deal for Nilson Angulo, reshuffling their options on the left flank without any need for panic or stress about the team's immediate position.
Sunderland had a lot of work to do in this window, but not the glamorous kind. A necessary overhaul of the squad in the summer and the club's rapid progression over the last couple of years had left a lot of players still in the building without a realistic path to the starting XI in the short and long term. To prepare the way for what is going to be another crucial summer window, Sunderland needed to create balance both financially and in terms of squad numbers. Though it wasn't a perfect month, Abdoullah Ba and Ian Poveda still essentially on limbo for another four months at least, the Black Cats made significant progress. A number of players made permanent exits, while others completed loan switches that will hopefully lead to significant game time and more options both for player and club come the summer. Signings Melker Ellborg and Jocelin Ta Bi served the dual purpose of adding more talent to Sunderland’s squad for the long run, and bolstering the depth in the short run that allowed for crucial outgoings.
Sources had indicated that coming into the January window, central midfield was the position that Sunderland would most likely recruit in. Which made sense given Dan Neil's likely exit and a lack of obvious cover to Granit Xhaka, but the challenge was in finding a player of sufficient calibre to replace the latter when needed and to be happy essentially playing second fiddle otherwise. Similarly, additional cover on the right flank would have been an obvious boost given no one has really been able to push Bertrand Traoré on a consistent basis. Sunderland assessed the market over the course of the month but ultimately just couldn't shake the feeling that their internal options were better, favouring continuity and trust in the players who have consistently delivered this season.
There were two factors, really, that underpinned Sunderland's relatively quiet end to the window. One was Habib Diarra's return: the club's first statement signing last summer and a pleyr who is bringing a major injection of energy and quality at a crucial stage of the season. His return unlocks a large number of possibilities for Le Bris: Sadiki can drop deeper to cover Xhaka when required, Le Fée can move out wide, Diarra himself can play off the right if required. Le Bris has referred to him repeatedly as a new signing over the last fortnight and his brilliant display against Burnley demonstrated exactly why. Florent Ghisolfi told The Echo late last year that January would be about a little bit of movement to add some 'oxygen' to the squad - but Diarra has provided that as well as any external signing could.
The other factor was gaining clarity on Lutsharel Geertruida's future, after a surprise move from Liverpool briefly threatened to create a few gaps in Le Bris's squad. A lack of a recall clause meant that Sunderland ultimately held the cards, but they understood it would be difficult to stand in Geertruida's way: he has been an immensely valuable player so far this season but never a regular in the XI. If Sunderland could replace him, they might have let him go. But whether it be a defender or a midfielder, finding a player to replicate what he can bring at such short notice was pretty much impossible. When productive talks with Geertruida made clear that he was ready to press on for the rest of the campaign, Sunderland knew they had a squad that could cope with the challenge of the months ahead.
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Sunderland do tend to have a little bit of deadline-day drama, though, and the first indications of what lay ahead came when Simon Adingra was (correctly) linked with a move to AS Monaco on Sunday night. That Adingra has real quality in the final third has been obvious even in an underwhelming start to his Sunderland career, but he has not looked a great for fit for Le Bris's style and as such can probably be considered a rare miss for the club's recruitment operation. The Black Cats would have been happy to keep Adingra for the rest of the campaign, but if his game time had continued to decline then there was a risk of his value depreciating. They also sensed an opportunity in Angulo, a player enjoying a breakout season in Belgium and whose contributions in and out of possession for Anderlecht marked him out as a potentially perfect Le Bris player. All very well in practice, but the little-known FIFA rule that so dominated Sunderland's winter window meant it was easier said than done. Sunderland could have recalled one of their six international loanees, as they had done in bringing back Milan Aleksic to pave the way for Arthur Masuaku to move to Lens a week previous, but that would clearly have been far from ideal. Schalke's permanent move for Adil Aouchiche provided the perfectly opportunity to set the chain in motion, but provided a tense finale as all three deals with inextricably linked to each other.
It says much, though, that there would have been little panic had the chain fallen through. This was about an added bonus, rather than essential business. The exciting thing for Sunderland fans is that their club now looks well placed to go after more exciting deals like the Angulo one this summer.
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