Sporting director Kristjaan Speakman has been a key talking point among Sunderland fans this season.
Speakman oversees the ins and outs at Sunderland.
And this season, the ins have been particularly poor, leading to criticism of Speakman throughout this season.
In particular, signings of names like Mason Burstow and Luis Hemir in attack have been criticised, with the club’s apparent inability to sign a striker being another criticism of Speakman.
He arrived at the club in December 2020 and has now overseen seven transfer windows, signing a total of 45 players along the way.
Here we rank all of Speakman’s signings at the Stadium of Light out of 10…
Ross Stewart
One of Speakman’s first Sunderland signings was Ross Stewart from Ross County.
He later left the club for an initial fee of £8million, compared to the £300k they reportedly signed him for.
40 goals in 80 games for Sunderland makes for a very good Speakman signing at Sunderland. 10/10
Carl Winchester
Carl Winchester was recently named Shrewsbury Town’s Player of the Season.
He was something of a cult favourite during his time at Sunderland; arriving as quite an underwhelming signing but going on to prove his worth in League One. 8/10
Jordan Jones
Now 29 years old and playing for Wigan Athletic in League One, Jones was one of Sunderland’s better loan signings of their League One era.
He scored three and assisted four in 20 league outings during the 2020/21 season, though injury hampered his time on Wearside. 7/10
Jake Vokins
Four total appearances on loan during the 2020/21 League One season, and now being on loan to Eastleigh in the non-league tells us all we need to know about this signing. 3/10
Trai Hume
Brought in from Linfield during the 2021/22 season for a reported fee of around £200,000, and now being linked with some top clubs in England and Europe.
Trai Hume is the perfect professional and a top player in the making. 10/10
Alex Pritchard
Alex Pritchard was a well-liked player during his time on Wearside, which should be deemed a success.
Although his exit left something of a sour taste, signing Pritchard proved to be a solid move from Speakman and Sunderland. 8/10
Patrick Roberts
Another who joined on a free transfer, Patrick Roberts has been a great player for Sunderland since arriving, though this season had certainly been tough.
He’s under contract next year and if he can back to his best, it’d be a huge boost to the next Sunderland manager. 7.5/10
Jermain Defoe
It wouldn’t be a welcome return for Jermain Defoe when he signed as a free agent during the 2021/22 season.
He made seven appearances, failed to score, and called time early. 4/10
Corry Evans
If Corry Evans has been fit and firing for the past year, Sunderland’s fortunes may well have been very different.
Club captain says it all. A very solid signing. 7/10
Danny Batth
Sunderland’s Player of the Season last season, but needlessly let go last summer to make way for younger blood.
He should’ve been kept around. 8/10
Niall Huggins
Niall Huggins looks like he has a lot of potential, though we’ve just not seen enough of it owing to numerous injuries.
He could still become a huge player for the Black Cats, though. 7/10
Jay Matete
Like Huggins, the 23-year-old Jay Matete has struggled with injuries.
He shown glimpses of real potential with Sunderland in League One and Plymouth Argyle during a loan spell, and he could yet become a top player. 6/10
Dennis Cirkin
Another who’s struggled with injury, though Dennis Cirkin, if fit, surely walks into the Sunderland XI.
There’s a hope and expectation that he plays a big role next time round. 7.5/10
Jack Clarke
Little needs to be said about Jack Clarke.
One of Sunderland’s best-ever signings; brought in for reportedly less than a million pounds, and now worth at least £20million. 10/10
Leon Dajaku
Former Bayern Munich youngster Leon Dajaku joined on loan from Union Berlin during the 2021/22 promotion season, going on to score four in 22 for the Black Cats.
He couldn’t make it stick after signing permanently, though, later being released after just one year of a two-and-a-half year deal. 6.5/10
Frederik Alves
Frederik Alves was someone whose loan spell at Sunderland really didn’t pan out.
He joined ahead of the 2021/22 campaign but would feature just three times in the league, then being recalled by West Ham midway though the season. 3/10
Rob-Thorben Hoffman
Rob-Horben Hoffman certainly seems to go down as one of the better goalkeepers of recent years for Sunderland.
The Black Cats have had some shockers and whilst Hoffmann wasn’t a world-beater, he wasn’t the worst. 6.5/10
Nathan Broadhead
Wales international Nathan Broadhead is now vying for promotion from the Championship with Ipswich Town, after earning promotion from League One with Sunderland two years ago.
He scored 10 in 22 for the Black Cats and has 13 in the Championship for Ipswich this season. 8.5/10
Callum Doyle
Callum Doyle meanwhile has just won the league title with Leicester City.
And last year he reached the play-off final with Coventry City, after being part of Sunderland’s promotion-winning team.
A star in the making for sure. 8/10
Dan Ballard
Various reports putting Dan Ballard to Sunderland at £2million, and like with Clarke it’s another shrewd investment.
Ballard is an absolute rock at the back and could fetch Sunderland upwards of £20million at some point in the future. 10/10
Jewison Bennette
Jewison Bennette arrived with a lot of hope and hype, but so far we’ve been quite disappointed with how his Sunderland spell ahs panned out.
He’s still under contract for a few more years and a loan move away may have done him some good. 5.5/10
Aji Alese
Now back to fitness and back in the side, Aji Alese has showed us why he’s so important and highly-rated among Sunderland fans, and at the club too after he was handed a new deal this season, despite his injury. 8.5/10
Abdoullah Ba
Abdoullah Ba is a very divisive player among Sunderland fans.
He’s had games where he’s looked like a top Championship player, and then some games where he’s looked completely out of his depth.
Still, he’s a useful player. 7/10
Isaac Lihadji
At just 22 years old, former French U21 international Isaac Lihadji is now playing in Saudi Arabia with Al-Duhail.
He was signed by Sunderland from Lille in January 2023 but would soon leave after just six appearances, with Speakman suggesting that Sunderland got a good deal for the player. 5.5/10
Pierre Ekwah
Another player who’s unplayable on his day, but we’ve seen Pierre Ekwah go missing a little too often.
There’s signs that he’s getting to grips with the demands of the Championship though, and links to the Premier League tell us all we need to know about his quality. 9/10
Alex Bass
Alex Bass joined in 2022 as a back-up goalkeeper and is yet to make his league debut for the Black Cats.
He’s spent this season on loan with AFC Wimbledon in League Two where he’s kept an impressive 16 clean sheets in 44 league outings, so it’ll be interesting to see if he returns as no.2 at Sunderland this summer. 5/10
Joe Anderson
There was a lot of hype around Joe Anderson when he arrived from Everton in January 2023.
But he’s yet to make his Championship debut for the Black Cats, instead spending this season out on loan where he’s featured 24 times in League One. 5/10
Amad Diallo
Very little needs to be said here.
How Sunderland managed to sign him on loan, we’ll never know. What a player and what a signing from Speakman. 10/10
Joe Gelhardt
Joe Gelhardt feels very much like the strikers Sunderland have this season.
He scored three and assisted three in 20 Championship outings on loan from Leeds and was well-liked by Tony Mowbray. 7/10
Edouard Michut
Decided in the end that he didn’t want to join Sunderland on a permanent deal from PSG, and now finds himself somewhat languishing in the Turkish SiperLig.
He was starting to show real signs of quality, but on the whole, his spell was fairly forgettable. 6.5/10
Ellis Simms
Another quality loan player for the Black Cats, with Ellis Simm’s spell cut way too short.
He scored seven in 17 Championship outings for Sunderland last season before being recalled by Everton. 8.5/10
Nazariy Rusyn
Sunderland’s most expensive signing of the Speakman era, if online reports are anything to go off.
And because of that, the £2.5milion striker Nazariy Rusyn has been a huge disappointment.
He’s lively and puts in the work-rate, but he just hasn’t settled in England so far. 6/10
Jenson Seelt
Very unfortunate to sustain such a serious injury this season.
Jenson Seelt was starting to really settle in and prove his worth, though there’s still bags of potential there and time left for the Dutchman to prevail. 8/10
Romaine Mundle
Jury’s still out on January signing Romaine Mundle.
He’s yet to really show us that he can be the man to replace Clarke next season, though it’s still early days or the former Spurs youngster. 6.5/10
Jobe Bellingham
Jobe Bellingham has had his critics this season, though seven goals in 44 total Championship appearances proves his worth.
He’ll have gained a tonne of confidence and experience this season and links to the likes of Lazio show how good he’s really been. 8.5/10
Leo Hjelde
The Norwegian started well but has since dropped off.
He could be a very useful player next season, though with Cirkin and Alese both returning, it could be a difficult campaign for Leo Hjelde. 6.5/10
Timothee Pembele
Former PSG man Timothee Pembele has endured a tough overall season after signing last summer.
He’s had injuries to contend with but has recently come into the side, shining on his first league start in the draw vs Leeds United recently. 7/10
Eliezer Mayenda
Simply haven’t seen enough of young striker Eliezer Mayenda to make a judgement.
The 18-year-old hasn’t really impressed on loan at Hibernian though, failing to score in the two league appearances he’s made. 5.5/10
Luis Hemir
A hugely disappointing season for the former Benfica man.
Luis Hemir looked like a really top prospect in pre-season last summer and although there was perhaps too much pressure on him to perform this season, he’s still been a disappointment. 4/10
Nectarios Triantis
Nectarios Triantis followed Mayenda to Hibernian in January and has featured 10 times in the Scottish top flight.
He seems to be finding his footing after a shaky start, playing in a new defensive midfield role. We’ve not seen enough of him yet. 6/10
Bradley Dack
Bradley Dack‘s season has perhaps panned out how most expected it to.
He’s struggled with injury having featured 16 times in the Championship, scoring one and assisting one as well, with a summer release looking nailed on. 5/10
Adil Aouchiche
Adil Aouchiche is an interesting talking point among Sunderland fans.
He’s shown real glimpses of quality this season, and more so under Mike Dodds in recent weeks, though he does seem to lack a bit of end product.
Aouchiche is another who’ll hopefully use this season to really kick on next time round. 6.5/10
Nathan Bishop
Former Manchester United goalkeeper Nathan Bishop has played no.2 to Antony Patterson all summer, featuring just once in the Carabao Cup. 5/10
Callum Styles
Callum Styles has had a turbulent spell since joining on loan from Barnsley in January.
He started off poorly, but since playing in his familiar left wing-back role, he’s looked good, nailing down a spot in the starting XI.
The summer ahead though is uncertain for the Hungarian international. 6.5/10
Mason Burstow
One goal in 20 Championship appearances this season says it all for the Chelsea loan man.
He never looked like doing anything spectacular this season, and he hasn’t. 4/10