Sunderland ‘ready gamble’ with Greenwood and Tanganga transfers – Exclusive
Sunderland have been linked with players with contrasting experiences as they prepare for the Premier League.
This summer represents a different strategy for Kristjmann Speakman, with the Black Cats known for their low spending over previous seasons.
Now that the Mackems are back in the big time, they are going to have to spend substantially more to compete.
Among the players linked with a move to Wearside are Millwall’s Japhet Tanganga and ex-Sunderland academy product Sam Greenwood.
Sunderland transfer strategy predicted before Premier League return
Sunderland may have already sold Jobe Bellingham and Tommy Watson, but they followed that up with acquiring Enzo Le Fee permanently.
Speakman is casting his transfer net far and wide, with Tanganga among several players with Premier League experience being targeted, despite their low costs.
Now, football finance expert Dan Plumley – speaking exclusively to Mackem News – has weighed in on transfer activity.
“It depends on what the expectation is for Sunderland,” he said.
“Signings like that [Tanganga and Greenwood] would suggest that they’re not going to go and break the bank or spend huge amounts of money on players that might be at the latter stages of their careers.
“You’ve got to look at this and go, right, are we trying to just stay up this season, or are we trying to see what we can do in the league?
“Then, maybe we’ve got some players there that are good players that we can keep hold of, even if we go down.
“Those signs would suggest that latter approach, of we’re going to try and have a go. We’re going to bring in some players who have got Premier League experience, but might be a bit of a gamble at lower cost, and we’ll bank some of that money to stabilise, and we might have to yo-yo.
“People talk about Burnley at the minute as a model of good practice, and they’ve yo-yoed, but we’re okay with that.
“Signings like that suggest that Sunderland are looking at it that way as well, and whatever happens, the fans will be on board with that as they have some kudos in the bank.”
Wearside faithful not inspired by Sunderland transfers
While Tanganga and Greenwood must be analysed separately, neither would inspire Sunderland supporters massively.
Tanganga could well be a wise acquisition, given his high performance levels last season and Premier League experience.
Greenwood, however, is surely a Championship-level player and would not get into Le Bris’ side, just as he has struggled to do at Leeds.
As Speakman looks to press on with deals, these two should not be a priority.
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