Sunderland held a fans’ forum on Thursday, with Regis Le Bris and Kristjaan Speakman in attendance.
Sunderland fans had the chance to put questions to new head coach Regis Le Bris and sporting director Kristjaan Speakman on Thursday, during the club’s latest fans’ forum.
It comes after a difficult 2024 so far for the Black Cats who spent four months without a manager and achieved a highly disappointing 16th place finish in the 2023/24 Championship campaign.
Following the arrival of Le Bris in June, matters at the Stadium of Light appear to be brightening, with Sunderland having recently signed experienced Championship midfielder Alan Browne on a free transfer.
Sunderland are widely expected to complete several more summer transfer deals before their 2024/25 Championship campaign gets underway in August.
Once again, strikers are a key focal point for Speakman in the transfer market, and on Thursday he addressed the club’s ongoing need for a prolific no.9.
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Kristjaan Speakman discusses Sunderland need for new strikers this summer
Sunderland signed three new striker last summer (Nazariy Rusyn and Luis Hemir on permanent deals, Mason Burstow on loan) but the trio managed just three league goals between them.
Then in January, Sunderland reportedly saw deals for two new strikers fall through, leaving an over-reliance on the likes of Jack Clarke once again.
As quoted by Roker Report, Speakman said on the club’s ongoing striker search at the fans’ forum: “We’ve got to find the right centre forward who’s available and viable for us. We will try to make sure we get the right one.”
Speakman then added: “Strikers are a difficult market. It’s hard to find goalscoring strikers. We want to be flexible and we’ve been successful playing without a striker, but that’s not the direction of travel.”
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The issue facing Kristjaan Speakman at Sunderland in 2024/25
There’s certainly still a lot of pressure riding on Speakman’s shoulders going into the 2024/25, despite what many think could be a shrewd appointment in Le Bris.
But whether or not Le Bris will be a success at Sunderland next season largely depends on Speakman; what he can do during this summer’s transfer window and whether or not he can finally end the club’s want for a prolific striker.
The Browne signing suggests that Speakman has acknowledged the fact that Sunderland lack experience and that a blend of younger and more older players is necessary.
And Le Bris may be hoping that Speakman applies the same thinking when looking for a new striker this summer, rather than signing the likes of Rusyn and Hemir, who lack Championship expertise.
So for Speakman, there’s issues to fix and pressure remaining; if Sunderland don’t find a new striker this summer, it would be a very bad look for Speakman.