Sunderland have made several signings in a bid to boost their chances of automatic promotion. As the transfer window recently slammed shut, what better time to look at each individual signing, as well as every exit from the SoL?
INS
TRAI HUME
Our first signing of January was 19-year-old Trai Hume, who arrived after impressing in Northern Ireland for Linfield. With our lack of fullbacks, it seemed as though the youngster would be thrown in at the deep end. However, Johnson persisted with the likes of Lynden Gooch, Carl Winchester and Bailey Wright at right back, meaning we are yet to see the promising defender in action.Northern Ireland journalist Steve Beacom described Hume as a “modern day full-back in that he loves to get forward but he is not afraid to defend and loves to get stuck in.”
ANTHONY PATTERSON
Patterson spent the first half of the season on loan at Notts County, and won’t be returning to Nottingham after being recalled in January. Sunderland were left without a goalkeeper following the club’s Covid crisis, meaning Patto played in league games against Wycombe and Lincoln. Thankfully Hoffman is fit and well, and back between the sticks. However, Lee Burge has suffered with heart problems following his positive result, meaning Sunderland decided to keep Patterson as a bench option in Burge’s absence. Although he made no glaring errors during his time in the first team, he didn’t command his box well and the defence look much more confident and settled with the German behind them.
PATRICK ROBERTS
Roberts was rumoured to be coming to Sunderland since the start of the transfer window, but complications with his former club in France meant the deal was delayed, and wasn’t made official until the 21st. When it was confirmed, the club also revealed that it was a permanent contract (although only six months long), rather than a loan deal from his parent club Man City. Roberts had barely played over in France, so he is yet to start as he continues to build up match fitness. James Barker from the Boro Breakdown claims that when the winger joined Middlesbrough on loan, he was: “One of those signings where you would hear people say, 'if we can keep him fit and get him playing, he could be the best winger in the league'.” Given that he’s came from Man City, and the fact he’s been given the ludicrous number 77, he’d better be good!
DANNY BATTH
Our third signing over the winter was 31-year-old Danny Batth, who joined the lads from Stoke. Lee Johnson has tried to sign the centre half in the past, and Batth has been a welcome addition at the heart of defence. On his debut, Batth was instrumental in grinding out a 1-0 win over Pompey alongside Doyle and Flanagan. However, Batth's lack of pace was exposed in a back
four against Bolton, and he was left with egg on his face after scoring a Vergini-esque own goal in the defeat. He’s supposedly a lovely guy off the pitch, with a great personality and a good influence in the dressing room. Youngsters such as Hume and Doyle are bound to learn loads from Batth, who has been described by Stoke fans as “a player that gives 100% week on week, brave beyond belief, a proper old school centre half... There’s no doubt he could have continued in the Championship”.
JACK CLARKE
Similar to Roberts, Clarke is a player who showed plenty of promise in his youth, before signing for a big club for big money- which saw both players’ game time greatly reduced. Still 21, Clarke will be hoping to get his career back on track after struggling at loan spells with Stoke and QPR. He arrives on loan from Tottenham, where he hasn’t played a single competitive game despite costing £10 million. He’s another January reinforcement who hasn’t started for the Ladsas he builds up match fitness. Upon completion of the deal, Lee Johnson said: "Jack is a talented player and having followed his progress over the past few years, I feel like he’s really grown on the pitch throughout the past six months and found a maturity to pair with that talent."
JAY MATETE
The signing of Jay Matete was announced late on deadline day, as Wee Phillie uttered those now famous words: “It’s Jermain Defoe... it’s Jermain Defoe... It’s not Jermain Defoe”. The midfielder is highly rated by Fleetwood fans, and adds some much-needed defensive solidity to our lightweight midfield. At just 20 years old, Matete has plenty of time to develop and hopefully progress with us through the leagues. The only question mark is his height. He stands at just 5 foot 8- however, as N'golo Kante has proven, you don’t need to be the tallest to be a dominant defensive presence.
JERMAIN DEFOE
The one you’ve undoubtedly been waiting for! Defoe arrived to much fanfare, five years after his departure to Bournemouth. At 39 years old, it’s unlikely that Defoe will play many full games but imagine a League One defender who has been run ragged by Ross Stewart all game, looks at the touchline and Jermain Defoe is coming on. His experience and quality will be a major boost, and the short-term nature of the deal means there is very little risk involved. A natural poacher like Defoe doesn’t need to rely on pace, which makes him a huge threat to any team at this level. Following the emotional return, Defoe said: “I can’t stop smiling because this is a special move for me for many reasons. I’ve had so many messages saying, ‘remember when you said you would come back’, as I said that I would one day and when I left, I wasn’t ready to leave."
OUTS
FREDERIK ALVES
The first departure in January was Frederik Alves, who was sent back to West Ham after failing to impress in red and white. He only made ten appearances in all competitions for the Lads, including seven starts in the cup and playing just three league games, all of which were from the bench. His “lack of discipline” led to the Denmark U21 being left out of the Arsenal game, and Alves returns to the capital without making much of an impression on Wearside. Kristjaan Speakman explained: "Throughout Freddie's loan, we have remained in regular dialogue with him and West Ham United regarding his programme. He's progressed and he's matured off the pitch, but he's missing the frequency of games required at this stage of his development and we collectively understand the need for him to be playing regular football.”
DENVER HUME
Hume was left out of our match squad against Portsmouth due to ongoing transfer talks, which eventually materialised in the following week. The fullback wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea, with his defensive weaknesses often exposed. He hadn’t played much this season- partly down to Dennis Cirkin’s good form, but Hume has also been injured for large parts of the season. He became pretty unpopular on Wearside over the summer when he stalled on a new deal, eventually putting pen to paper after realising no Championship clubs wanted him. Pompey boss Danny Cowley praised Hume for his “quality in the final third and we really like his wonderful ability to receive the ball on the back foot and play forwards”.
OLLIE YOUNGER
The former Burnley defender joined Doncaster Rovers in an effort to play more senior games. Although Sunderland have had somewhat of an injury crisis at the back, Johnson looked reluctant to ever trust Younger. Even at fullback, he’s opted for Lynden Gooch out of position, and last season chose Luke O’Nien in Younger’s natural position of centre half. He’s been a peripheral squad player without ever getting a chance in the first team. On Younger’s Donny debut, he kept a clean sheet and was voted Man of the Match as Gary McSheffrey’s side defeated MK Dons 1-0.
JOSH HAWKES
Perhaps a surprising transfer was Josh Hawkes joining Tranmere permanently. He spent the first half of the season on loan at Micky Mellon’s side, but was recalled when we endured a Covid outbreak. However, Hawkes went on to re-join Tranmere for an undisclosed fee after the signing of Clarke pushed him further down the pecking order. At 23 years old, it was probable the right time for Hawkes to move on and search for regular game time. Tranmere gaffer Micky Mellon said: “We’re really pleased to bring Josh in and now he becomes one of our own. It’s terrific for us that we’re growing our own team with our own players which is an important step forward for us. We’re building these relationships with these clubs now such as Celtic, Rangers and Sunderland which benefits both clubs and we’ll see if we can keep improving the team in the future in this way.”
AIDEN O’BRIEN
The first move of deadline day was to send Aiden O’Brien down south, following Denver Hume to Pompey. The forward was in the last six months of his contract, so it wasn’t a major surprise to see him join a fellow League One club. He has struggled for game time this season, but had a memorable moment when he scored a hat-trick against Blackpool in the Carabao Cup. Although O’Brien was never really a goal threat, he did offer something a bit different to the side and was a useful option from the bench. The Republic of Ireland international was “itching to sign after the situation at Sunderland and just wanted to get back playing football again” so it is a move which works for everyone involved.
TOM FLANAGAN
Flanagan’s exit to Shrewsbury leaves Sunderland with just Danny Batth, Callum Doyle, Bailey Wright and the recovering Arbenit Xhemajli. The club was linked with a late move for Fulham defender Terence Kongolo which never materialised. This makes the Flanagan move look even stranger, as we like to play with a back three which leaves just one backup defender, Xhemajli, who has barely played. Although the Northern Ireland international’s form has dipped since the start of the season, surely he was a useful utility option to keep around for the last six months of his contract?
