Three Transfers That Could Massively Boost Sunderland Next Season
It’s no secret that Sunderland are in a bad way. Their long awaited relegation from the Premier League was finally confirmed last season and their debts are crippling.
Takeover talk is whirling around the town but the doom and gloom remains. With Jermain Defoe leaving and others following suit, it’s vital that despite debts the club can build a squad capable of challenging for at least a top six spot this term. Here we look at three realistic transfer possibilities who could help them along:
Guillermo Varela (Man United)
The 24-year-old right-back has been on loan at Enitracht Frankfurt but has just one year left on his deal at Old Trafford. The Manchester club would not ask for too prohibitive a fee you would feel and the Uruguayan can add a touch of quality to the Wearside club’s line-up.
Cameron Jerome (Norwich City)
It could be a pre-season of major changes at Norwich City and while that will ultimately be good for the East Anglian side, it could also benefit one or two others. Sunderland need to quickly remember that the Championship is a league you need knowledge of if you want to get out of it, and Jerome has plenty of that.
He is a thoroughly decent striker, still going strong and to the surprise perhaps of some he managed 16 league goals last season. That fact may have gone under the radar of many but not of the Sunderland hierarchy, who are known to have expressed an interest in Jerome, who is seen as someone who could provide the necessary firepower to take Sunderland back up.
Daryl Murphy (Newcastle United)
Yes, he is under contract at their bitter rivals, but Murphy did indeed spent time at Sunderland between 2005 and 2010.
The Republic of Ireland striker could cost nearly £2million but would be worth every penny. The former Ipswich Town player did not receive a lot of game time at Newcastle under Rafa Benitez, perhaps not surprisingly, and despite his quality is not a player who would be en vogue with Premier League clubs and is likely to stay at this level.
Hard working, good in the air and deceptively good on the ground too, Murphy is a proven goal scorer in this league and would most likely guarantee Sunderland 15 goals plus should he be playing every week. Given that he had Dwight Gayle and Aleksandar Mitrovic ahead of him in the St James’ Park pecking order, he did very well with the opportunities he was afforded and scored some crucial goals along the way.