Tony Mowbray has admitted that Sunderland need ‘one or two’ more strikers.
Speaking following the Carabao Cup defeat to Crewe midweek, the Black Cats boss revealed that he is still looking to bolster the attack due to injuries to Ross Stewart and Eliezer Mayenda.
Stewart has been sidelined with a serious Achilles injury since Sunderland’s FA Cup clash with Fulham in January and is expected to remain out until the end of September at the earliest, while Mayenda picked up an issue in training the day after he joined the club from Sochaux.
Sunderland’s continuing injury problems meant that Luis Hemir Semedo was their only striker option as they hosted Ipswich Town in their Championship opener at the weekend, with the teenager struggling to impress in his first ever competitive match of senior football.
It wasn’t long before the Wearside outfit were forced to return to playing with Jack Clarke up front – a position that he was often tasked with taking on last season.
“Somewhere down the line, potentially Ross Stewart with Dack, Clarke and Roberts looks pretty potent to me,” Mowbray said.
“But that might be six or seven weeks away yet. We do have strikers in the building, but unfortunately two of them are injured at the moment and we’re left with one. We need to add one or two more.”
Sunderland should sign Cameron Archer to solve their striker problem
The Athletic have reported this week that Aston Villa are now open to selling Cameron Archer this summer, despite previous expectations that he would be given a chance in the first team.
The striker’s availability will have put a long list of clubs on high alert following his excellent loan spells with Middlesbrough and Preston North End.
Archer scored 18 goals and provided seven assists in 42 appearances across both clubs, with Boro extremely interested in bringing him back to the Riverside Stadium.
Aston Villa’s willingless to part ways with the 21-year-old is huge news for Championship clubs and Sunderland should be doing everything they can to bring him in.
It’s unclear how much they will demand and it is likely to be a hefty fee, but Archer could certainly prove to be the difference between missing the play-offs and winning promotion. He could even challenge Ross Stewart for a spot in the starting line-up.