Sunderland head coach Tony Mowbray has admitted that his side needs to strengthen up top when the January transfer window opens ahead of the second half of the campaign.
The Black Cats’ top goalscorer this season is Jack Clarke, who has found the net nine times in 17 Championship matches. In fact, only Blackburn Rovers star Sammie Szmodics has scored more goals this term in the second tier.
However, the gap between Sunderland’s top and second-highest scorers this season is massive as Dan Neil and Jobe Bellingham are joint-second with three goals apiece.
Strikers Mason Burstow, Nazariy Rusyn and Jewison Bennette have all failed to get on the scoresheet this season, leading to a significant dry spell up top. Clarke has bagged one-third of Sunderland’s total goals this season.
Speaking to the Sunderland Echo, Mowbray has admitted that the number ‘9’ position is an area that needs strengthening ahead of the upcoming winter window [quotes via Sunderland AFC News]:
“I haven’t made any recommendations as such but we’ve done player audits: what do we need, where do we think we are, where are we strong? You can never stand still in football.
“We’ve talked about the striker position, these lads have a brilliant opportunity. If they’re not scoring a goal and they’ve all played 10, 15 games each and no goals then something is wrong and we need to address it.
“But that’s every position. If the centre-halves can’t keep a clean sheet, if the goalie keeps throwing the ball in his own net, that’s what you do constantly, you have to keep moving forward.”
Writer’s View
The primary issue for Sunderland right now is that an injury to Jack Clarke could cause the side’s entire season to crumble given he is responsible for a third of their league goals this term.
The Black Cats haven’t replaced Ross Stewart ever since he left for Southampton in the summer so it’s not surprising that Mowbray is keen to add some quality up top.
