Kristjaan Speakman laughs at Sunderland transfer question live on Sky Sports
Sunderland have had a busy start to the transfer window ahead of their Premier League return.
Sporting director Kristjaan Speakman and Co have already welcomed six new signings to the Stadium of Light and look intent on continuing their spending.
Among the new arrivals is Simon Adingra from Brighton, after Amad Diallo spoke highly of his former club to help persuade him to move to the North East.
Several new additions are still needed for Sunderland, and Speakman has given an insight into their transfer strategy in a recent interview.
Speakman aware of the challenge ahead
One of the positions Sunderland are seemingly looking to recruit in is a new goalkeeper, with Aaron Ramsdale being considered as an option for the Black Cats.
In a recent interview with Sky Sports (12 July), Speakman revealed Sunderland’s ambitions upon their return to the Premier League and let supporters know what they can expect for the remainder of the transfer window.
“We’re not naive to the challenge,” Speakman said.
“We have to be really clear about our mindset, our mindset is Sunderland needs to be back where it’s always been.
“We’ve still got several more players that we need to acquire in certain areas of the pitch.”
This was misheard by the reporter, who mistook Speakman for saying he wanted seven more signings.
The pair quickly laughed this off before he finished: “We have to try to find the right players, and we’ve never been knee-jerk in our decision making, so we’ll try to be calm.
“But it’s the balance between being calm and waiting and trying to find, and also knowing that you’ve got the right ones and being decisive.”
Sunderland need to continue this positive momentum
There is still a long way to go before the start of the new Premier League season; however, Sunderland have done the best job so far when it comes to recruitment out of the three promoted sides.
The fact that Sunderland have even managed to lure certain players like Noah Sadiki and Habib Diarra to the Stadium of Light amid interest from direct rivals Leeds shows the ambition and the confidence the new signings have in their project.
With Jordan Henderson’s return to the North East now off the cards, Sunderland must turn their attention to other targets as Regis Le Bris continues to look to bolster his squad.
Valentin Rongier has now emerged as an option to provide the much-needed experience in the Wearsiders’ midfield.
The 30-year-old Frenchman is said to be available for £8.6million, but whether Sunderland are going to pay the fee to lure Rongier away from Marseille remains to be seen.
Speakman is clearly ready for more.
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