Since Dick Advocaat’s U-turn several weeks ago things have gone worryingly quiet for Sunderland fans. A slow stream of rumours have been getting through to fans, mainly through lazy journalism linking us to pretty much every player in the Dutch Eredivisie. The summer does tend to be silly season with every player from every club seemingly being linked to other clubs. And this one seems to no different.
Will Sunderland’s Transfer Activity Get Started Soon?
So far Sunderland have been linked to Jordy Clasie, Georgeinio Wijnaldum, Stewart Downing, Sam Byram, Carl Jenkinson, Moussa Sow and Virgil van Dijk amongst many others from the Premier League and from abroad. Some sources claim bids have been made, others say there’s been no interest at all. Whatever the truth is, Sunderland, Dick Advocaat and Co are currently keeping their cards held tightly to their chest. Advocaat has reportedly been given around £50 million to spend this summer and it maybe no surprise that the club are keeping tight-lipped.
It’s been mentioned that Sunderland do have an Ace card in Dick Advocaat. This could definitely be true with regards to attracting some players, especially those in the Dutch league or those who have already played under him. He is respected in the footballing world and that could be very useful to Sunderland when they are trying to attract a player and fend off interest from other clubs. Even with that said, could some of the players that have been mentioned be out of Sunderland’s league? A statement of intent? Or just part of the silly season?
None of the players mentioned or linked with Sunderland should be out of their league. They are a big club with an excellent stadium, fans and facilities. The one problem they will have is teams that finished higher up the league last season and may well have European football to look forward to next season may be a stronger pull at this stage. For example, Downing and Van Dijk are currently at clubs with European football a possibility (if they can negotiate the preliminary rounds). Clasie and Wijnaldum could be even more difficult for Sunderland to get. They are both thought of highly in Europe, are internationals playing for top Dutch teams, Feyenoord and PSV respectively, and they are young and will be seen as first team players with a possible high resale value. Teams in the top half of the Premier League will be looking at these players as well as Sunderland and the pull of playing for potentially a top six club with European football may be to greater pull even if Sunderland have Advocaat in charge.
Another deciding factor could be that Advocaat may only be in charge of Sunderland for another season; players may not like insecurity unless they have an idea who may be lined up to replace him next summer. This may not be something that should be going through a footballer’s mind but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a factor.
There have been worries amongst some sections of supporters that no progress seems to have been made, especially when Dick mentioned that six quality players were required. When he said this, many thought he would have had players in mind given his vast experience and knowledge. Maybe this was not the case as at the time he was on the verge of saying goodbye to the club.
Pre-season starts very soon with the season itself starting early this year on August 8th. In this day and age transfers can be long and tedious affairs and like others, Sunderland will surely be wanting to get their transfer dealings done sooner rather than later. This is to ensure that the new players and the team hit the ground running come the start of the season as excuses like “players are still getting used to their new team-mates” can wear thin very quickly. Sunderland need to get their dealings right this summer to avoid yet another battle at the wrong end of the table. This will in turn give them a better chance of attracting players come the transfer window in January and next summer.
It’s hard to say what us going on behind the scenes but I’m sure Advocaat, Sporting Director Lee Congerton and owner Ellis Short will be doing all they can. Caution and taking your time cannot be faulted at times when its imperative to get it right but the clock is ticking and the pressure will begin to increase in the coming weeks.
