Sunderland transfer news: What Tony Mowbray said about Everton's Ellis Simms, free agents and Millwall
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The Black Cats have been left short of options up front after missing out on a deal to sign another striker on transfer deadline day.
An injury to Ross Stewart also means the side will be without their top scorer for the remainder of the campaign.
Still, Sunderland will be hoping to build on last weekend’s 1-1 draw against Premier League side Fulham at Craven Cottage.
Here’s what was said at the Academy of Light as Mowbray spoke to the media:
RECAP: Tony Mowbray press conference
Key Events
- Sunderland are preparing for their Championship fixture against Millwall at The Den this weekend.
- Black Cats boss Tony Mowbray will be held his pre-match press conference earlier today.
- Sunderland missed out on signing another striker at the end of the transfer window.
- Top scorer Ross Stewart has been ruled out until the end of the season.
Good Morning!
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Tony Mowbray’s pre-match press conference ahead of this weekend’s meeting with Millwall.
The Black Cats boss is set to speak to the media at 9am this morning, and we’ll have live updates from the Academy of Light.
Stick around and refresh the page for the latest Black Cats news.
Kristjaan Speakman interview
We’ll start with Sunderland’s frustrating end to the transfer window after the club’s attempts to make another striker signing fell short on deadline day.
Ross Stewart’s injury at Fulham, which means the striker will miss the rest of the season, and Everton’s decision to recall Ellis Simms means Sunderand have been left with just one recognised centre-forward, Leeds loanee Joe Gelhardt, for the remainder of the campaign.
Sporting director Kristjaan Speakman spoke to Phil Smith yesterday and gave this response when asked about the end of the window:
“Going into the Fulham game we were really comfortable having brought Joe into the mix. We weren’t anticipating doing another deal at that point, albeit there were other things that we were still looking at. It’s difficult I think at that point getting in a third striker who is comfortable behind Joffy and Ross. We were looking at some different profiles to potentially add for the future, but we were comfortable.
“That has obviously changed by half time at Fulham when we have a chat as a recruitment team and it’s clear we have to readdress it. You then have three days to try and do something.
“In that time, the opportunities there that we felt would either maintain or enhance the quality we’ve got in the team didn’t materialise, and there are a lot of factors within that. And there were some that as a club, across the board and the recruitment and the coaching staff and Tony in particular, we didn’t feel they would enhance the squad even as that additional nine.
“With Ellis, you can’t rely on other organisations and so for us, we went into deadline day thinking that there were four players who we felt we had a chance of signing on loan.
“Ultimately, they opted to stay at their clubs or ultimately weren’t allowed to leave their club. Ellis was one of those players.”
In terms of team news for this weekend’s fixture, it’s been confirmed Sunderland top scorer Ross Stewart will miss the remainder of the season with an Achilles injury.
Captain Corry Evans is also set to miss the rest of the campaign after suffering damage to his anterior cruciate ligament, while Elliot Embleton is recovering from a long-term setback.
Alex Pritchard (calf), Dennis Cirkin (hip) and Lynden Gooch (hip flexor) have been sidelined in recent weeks and are nearing a return to action.
Aji Alese was substituted at half-time against Fulham last weekend after struggling with an issue, while Luke O’Nien is still suspended following his red card against Swansea.
We should get more information from Mowbray this morning.
