Sunderland’s start to their summer transfer window has been particularly slow once again.
The Black Cats snapped up Simon Moore on a free transfer last month, but have otherwise been fairly quiet.
It will certainly begin to concern fans if it is left too long, with the club having signed four players by now this time last summer.
Sunderland will be fine to wait if their transfer business is much better than last season, but they won’t want to hang around too long before they try to finally sign a proven goalscorer.
The Black Cats have been linked with very few forwards recently, though one name they have reportedly been interested in since January is Macaulay Langstaff.
The Stockton-on-Tees born attacker netted 28 goals in 39 games for Gateshead in the 2021-22 season, before earning himself a move to Notts County.
Langstaff went onto net a whopping 70 goals in 96 matches for the League Two club and has since attracted huge interest.
Sunderland set to miss out on £750k goalscorer
Sunderland were linked with him in January before the Sunderland Echo reported they had cooled their interest, but have recently been reported to be one of a number of Championship teams keen on his signature.
However, it now looks like the Wearside outfit have missed out on the 27-year-old.
According to journalist Darren Witcoop, Millwall are set to sign Langstaff in a deal worth £750,000.
Witcoop previously claimed that the likes of Sunderland and Middlesbrough were interested, but he is decided to move down to the capital instead of staying around his hometown.
The Black Cats may need to take a risk in their striker search
The ‘brilliant’ striker would have been a risk considering he has only played as high as League Two, but his ability to find the net arguably makes it a risk worth taking.
Sunderland desperately need a striker, but bringing one in from the Championship is going to be very difficult given the high-demand for them.
Poaching a forward from a lower league could end up being a brilliant bit of business and could certainly be one that pushes Millwall back up into the top half next season.
Their interest can’t have been that serious though, because surely if Sunderland or even Middlesbrough had launched a bid for him then he would have preferred to return to his local area.