Roker Roundtable: Where do Sunderland need to strengthen before the deadline?

Anthony Gair says…

Part of me believes that we don’t need any further additions to improve the side.

We’re flying high, we’ve got some incredible talent here already and some of the football we play is nothing short of majestic. The last thing we need is for a group of people to come in and spoil the feeling of togetherness that the squad appears to have at this moment in time.

However, if Ross Stewart gets injured we could be in trouble, so another striker would be ideal, but he would certainly be playing second fiddle to the Loch Ness Drogba. It looks like Joe Gelhardt will be that man and if that’s the case, great.

I feel like anything above the relegation zone this season is a bonus and a strong foundation that we could build on. Whatever happens during the remainder of the window, I have faith in the recruitment team to make the best decisions they can.

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Kevin Campbell says…

Transfer windows are my favourite time of the football year, especially since Kristjaan Speakman has been pulling the strings.

He’s been almost flawless since taking over and I’ve got no doubt that he’ll have a few more tricks up his sleeve before this window slams shut.

As far as incomings go, I tend to think a little greedy.

As well as the Gelhardt loan, I’d love to see us get another young striker - one as cover but also as a long-term replacement for if and when Ross Stewart moves on.

I’d also love to see us snap up one more centre half for cover and/or development, and another goalie to provide some genuine competition for Anthony Patterson between the sticks.

It seems like a stretch, but I think most, if not all of that is possible between now and end of the window.

Bailey Wright has been linked with a move away, but he’s a great squad player who adds leadership and experience to the backline. Elsewhere, he left for St Gallen on Thursday and he’s the player I’m least disappointed to lose, but Leon Dajaku intrigues me.

It seems that he’s got potential - if only someone could find the key to unlock it.

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Malc Dugdale says…

There are a number of areas where we still need to strengthen, but the main one for me is in attack, and the striker we desperately need to see come in. Joe Galhardt fits the bill and if we can get that over the line, that will be a massive tick in the box.

If we let a couple of players go to enable incomings in certain areas, I’m okay with that, as long as we don’t leave ourselves too short in any area.

The rumours about Bailey Wright leaving won’t go away and if he can progress his career I’d be fine with that, but I’d rather retain Alex Pritchard until the end of the season so we can maintain creative depth while some of these exciting young players settle in and get themselves up to full fitness.

The final comment I would make is that Anthony Patterson would definitely benefit from more competition. If he got injured, I’d be worried about the readiness of Alex Bass.

I’m really looking forward to the next week or so.

Transfer windows at Sunderland are nearly as exciting as the football these days, but for different reasons, which I’m really happy about!

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