Fan Letters: Will Sunderland be able to keep hold of our better players in January?

Dear Roker Report,

Everyone seems to be talking about what players we’ll bring in... but do you fear we’ll lose anyone in January from the current crop? Are we safe?

Jon Wild

Ed’s Note [Martin]: I think it’s a possibility, Jon. We have a load of players on ‘legacy’ deals who’ll be out of contract come the end of the season. The likes of Willis, Gooch and Hume, for example, will be on the radar of Championship clubs, and we could be tempted to cash in if there’s decent money on offer. Of course, the current financial climate means those offers may not be as forthcoming as they would have been, and the other variable is the new ownership – what impact will that have?

Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images

Dear Roker Report,

Reading message board reports that Dan Neil is off to Salford on loan... can’t work out if it’s a good move for him and us or if we are missing a trick not playing the lad regularly? It’s a tough one as he’s so young... hope he goes and smashes it. Good move or...?

Buzzer

Ed’s Note [Martin]: If he’s not getting game time here then it makes sense to get some loan action. It worked well for Diamond last season and could have a similar effect for Neil. Ideally I’d like to see him given some action here – he’s probably got more chance under Johnson than Parkinson – but I expect him to go out on loan.

Photo by Ian Horrocks/Sunderland AFC via Getty Images

Dear Roker Report,

Let's hope we offload half the squad.

There are plenty of Premier League players to bring in and I would look abroad to improve us and get us out of League One.

Ian Donoghue

Ed’s Note [Martin]: Easier said than done, Ian! The wage cap for one will severely limit our spending power, regardless of what the new owner’s intentions are regarding playing investment, while Brexit will no doubt restrict the players lower league clubs can bring in, too.

The squad we have at present is – in my opinion – good enough to get us up. There are so many players out of contract in the summer that we’ll probably offload more than half the squad then, anyway.