Sunderland sporting director Kristjaan Speakman insists they are relaxed about the striker situation at the club, as he explained that they didn’t want to overpay in January.
Since taking over as Tony Mowbray’s replacement, Michael Beale has had mixed results, and the team failed to acquire a natural number nine during the transfer window.
Three summer signings, Mason Burstow, Nazariy Rusyn, and Luis Semedo, have only scored two goals in the league between them thus far. For this reason, a lot of people believed that in January, a striker had to be the top priority.
So, there was some disappointment that the club failed to get a deal over the line, with the spotlight turning to Speakman.
Kristjaan Speakman explains Sunderland transfer stance
However, the influential Sunderland official explained to the BBC why they failed to sign a new striker, citing the challenges of the winter transfer window and their reluctance to pursue a player who was not their top target.
“The nine position is very similar to the rest of them in which you have three or four targets that you obviously have to try to prioritise. I think the forward position is always an area you want to try and strengthen and improve if you can.
“We went right down to the wire on three or four of them and then at the end of it, you know, it wasn’t meant to be for various reasons. Availability and ultimately choice.
“I think sometimes finance can get drawn into it. Ultimately, you’ve always got a choice if you want to go and spend more and more but there also comes a point where you have to evaluate that against the value. On this occasion that didn’t come through for us so it’s not something that was sitting around in huge frustration if I’m quite frank with you.
“We’re happy we improved the forward line with Romaine joining us and ultimately we’ve got three players in the building that we believe in and obviously we want to make sure that they can have the opportunity. They also need to step up and perform, don’t they?”
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Even though Beale is working with a strong Championship team, it should be acknowledged that he will undoubtedly be disappointed that he was unable to secure a striker.
This season, Jack Clarke has assumed the responsibility of being one of the league’s standout players. Others with talent, such as Burstow and Rusyn, are available; as Speakman suggests, the goal is to enhance the current team.