Sunderland and Kristjaan Speakman may be making another critical error in the transfer market, given recent rumours.
For Sunderland, nothing short of a perfect summer and transfer window is needed.
Owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and sporting director Speakman are two men under the spotlight following a season which held so much promise, but ended with so much disappointment.
The Black Cats finished the season in 16th after a 2-0 defeat against Sheffield Wednesday; a team who were bottom of the table for the vast majority of the campaign, but who finished just three points behind Sunderland in the end.
Not only do the Black Cats need to hire a manager who will go down well with the supporters and also deliver results, Speakman needs to give whoever the next Sunderland manager is a squad capable of challenging for the top six.
And rumours of apparent Sunderland targets are flooding in.
Kristjaan Speakman making another critical Sunderland error
Sunderland have been plagued by injuries since their return to the Championship, yet the club and Speakman continue to take an interest in injury prone players.
If reports are to be believed, the Black Cats have their eye on Chris Willock at QPR and Ian Poveda at Leeds United; both of whom are out of contract in the summer, and both of whom are prone to injuries.
Although Willock featured 39 times in the Championship campaign just concluded, he only managed 28 in the season before that.
In four seasons at QPR, former Arsenal man Willock has missed 44 league games through injury, with constant injuries also making him very hit and miss in terms of form with just four goals in the 2023/24 season.
And Poveda missed the last five games on loan at Sheffield Wednesday through injury, capping yet anther season of injuries for the Colombian international who at 24 years old has 171 total appearances to his name; for comparison, Dan Neil at 22 years old has 206.
One thing could help Sunderland on the injury front
It’s no secret that Sunderland have struggled with injuries in the last two seasons. But what’s causing these issues remains a mystery.
Whether it’s issues with the pitch at the Stadium of Light, or at the Academy of Light, or simply pure bad luck, remains to be seen.
But Sunderland should bank on having yet more injuries next time round and make sure they’re ready for it by having a large first-team squad.
The next manager will likely want to play fast and front foot football and for that he’ll need a fit first-team which he can rotate every week.
The next manager can’t be held back by injured players and so Speakman and Sunderland shouldn’t worsen the problem by taking up first-team spots with injury prone players like Willock and Poveda.
Whilst good players, there’s just too much unnecessary risk involved with both, so Sunderland should move on and target players with a better recent record on the injury front.
If they can go one season without too many major issues then they might have a bit more luck in the league table.