Although Michael Beale acknowledges that Sunderland may have to reconsider their transfer strategy in light of the two serious injury setbacks suffered by Dennis Cirkin and Niall Huggins this month, he also feels that his roster offers him enough flexibility in terms of his defense.
Huggins, who underwent surgery this week as well, will be out of commission for at least a year due to a significant knee injury, while Cirkin will be out of commission for at least three months following his hamstring surgery.
As a result, Beale acknowledges that Sunderland is lacking a full-back, and the Black Cats must make a choice before the window closes.
Beale evaluated his alternatives and said, “We’re very excited about Timmy (Pembele), but he obviously needs to pick up a bit on his fitness because he had a long time out.”
“I think we have a lot of great choices when both of us are available, but losing the two will definitely force us to reflect.
“We have three games left before the transfer window closes, so it’s a long month. If we were to suffer another injury, we would definitely look to the market, but we also have the option to play a back three with young players like Jenson Seelt and Nectar Triantis.”
“We’ve got Aji who is playing there at the moment and Trai Hume, and we’ve got Timmy Pembele as well.”
In the upcoming weeks, Sunderland will also be without two attacking players: Patrick Roberts isn’t scheduled to return until next month due to a calf issue, and Bradley Dack is sidelined with a hamstring ailment.
