Despite the January transfer window closing only recently, Sunderland are already looking towards the summer, with Wolves midfielder Tommy Doyle on their radar.
The January transfer window has since received mixed reviews from Sunderland fans and pundits alike, with Marco Gabbiadini not all that impressed with the club’s business.
In the end, Kristjaan Speakman got loan deals over the line for Enzo Le Fee and Jayden Danns, whilst Kyril Louis-Dreyfus spent £5million to sign Wilson Isidor on a permanent deal from Zenit.
But Danns is injured, putting a bit of a dampener on the whole window. Nonetheless, Sunderland are still going strong in the Championship under Regis Le Bris, and the future is currently looking bright.
The summer could see several players leave the Stadium of Light. Inevitably, that would mean several more arriving, and Sunderland have been linked with Tommy Doyle at Wolves.
Sunderland AFC News has spoken to Wolves expert Tom Griffin who writes for Molineux News to get the lowdown on the 23-year-old former Manchester City talent…
Do Wolves fans rate Sunderland target Tommy Doyle?
Griffin: “Tommy Doyle is rated highly by Wolves fans, and many believe he should be playing more under Vitor Pereira. Although not blessed with physicality and an engine like his peers, he always puts in 110% on the pitch and he’s technically superb.
“Unfortunately, due to the physical demands required in Pereira’s midfield, he’s not played as much as he would have liked.”
What position/role does Tommy Watson play?
Griffin: “Doyle is a deep-lying playmaker, someone who can collect the ball from his defence and dictate the tempo of a game with his passing range. He’s not really a player who will ghost forward into the box and score goals but more so an old fashioned type, keeping it simple and doing the basics.”
Does Tommy Watson compare to a current Premier League player?
Griffin: “I’d say Doyle is most alike Arsenal’s Jorginho. The Italian also isn’t known for his speed and physicality but his passing range and positional awareness is world-class.
“From a Sunderland point of view, he’s perhaps closest to a Jordan Henderson type. His playmaking abilities are comparable to the former Liverpool star.”
At the end of last season, then Wolves manager Gary O’Neil also compared Doyle to Jorginho. The former Wolves boss said: “His obvious strength is with the ball. He always gives us something with the ball with his range of passing. I think we can still that better for him, if that is going to be his strength.”
“If you look at Jorginho at Arsenal, where his strengths are purely with the ball, he’s excellent, super intelligent, but you’d say his use of the ball is still on a different level to Tommy’s. We need to get him to a point where he always impacts the game with his use of the ball.”
How much do Wolves want for Tommy Watson amid Sunderland links?
Griffin: “Since Wolves signed Doyle for £4.3 million, I’d say the club would be tempted to sell if a £10m+ offer came in. A figure hasn’t been attributed to him yet, but as he’s fallen down the pecking order, Pereira would probably cash in for that price.”