Yesterday Ipswich Town confirmed the permanent signing of former Sunderland loanee Nathan Broadhead from Everton.
The fee is rumoured to be around £1.5 million for the striker, who has signed a three-and-a-half year deal at Portman Road.
Broadhead scored 10 goals in 20 league appearances while on loan at Sunderland, leading to heavy transfer interest in the summer. But reportedly he didn't fancy competing for a starting place against Simms and Stewart, so went to the team all former Sunderland players go - Wigan.
He was pretty good in limited minutes during his loan spell with the Latics, scoring five goals in the first half of this season before the loan was cut short in order to facilitate the move to League One.
Rumours were swirling this January of a return to Sunderland but, reportedly, despite Broadhead being interested in the deal Sunderland had moved on to other targets. After his move to Ipswich was confirmed, the 24-year-old said: “I want to help this team get promoted and score goals in the process. Looking at it from the outside, it’s clear that Kieran McKenna has the team playing some really good football, and that’s something that made me want to come here. Under him the team is going places and I will work hard to help. I’ve played at Portman Road as an opposition player and it was a hostile place playing for the other team – it was one of the toughest games of my career [last season for Sunderland] so far and was very intense. I’m looking forward to being part of it this time in front of the fans.”
In other striker news, Sunderland target Sam Surridge is reluctant to move away from Nottingham Forest and instead wants to fight for his place in the Premier League side. Surridge had been linked with a loan move to SAFC following the departure of Ellis Simms, although Burnley have also been credited with interest in the striker.
He scored a fairly impressive seven goals in 20 Championship appearances for Forest last season as they earned promotion through the play-offs. But The 24-year-old has made 11 Premier League appearances this season, including just one start. Forest are said to want another striker in January, which could lead to Surridge or summer signing Emmanuel Dennis leaving the club.
We are now ten days into the January window and still no movement on Wearside. It's pretty obvious that Sunderland need a new striker, ideally two, as Ross Stewart is the only out-and-out number nine at the club. While some fans have been concerned with the lack of transfer activity, it is clear that the 'new regime' prefer to keep the media at arm's length and do their work quietly in the background, so perhaps a new signing could come unexpectedly for SAFC supporters.
