Conceding 24 goals in 16 league matches is not the way that Gus Poyet and his team at Sunderland wanted to end the year. The manager of Sunderland has hinted out the possibility of signing a defender in the January transfer window but the Uruguayan tactician also stated that it will be difficult and he can’t promise the supporters of the club anything at this point in time.
Wes Brown and John O’Shea are some of the defenders that Gus Poyet prefers to utilize on a usual basis but that defensive duo are over 32 years old each and a replacement could be in sight as Poyet is thinking about what he is going to do when the January transfer window comes rolling along and some of his main players in the squad are reaching an age where it’s time to consider looking around for alternatives.
One of the players that are on the radar of Gus Poyet and Sunderland is Virgil van Dijk of Celtic FC. A few months ago Sunderland displayed their interest in signing the 23 years old defender but a deal could never be completed as Celtic placed a price tag on the player of £10 million and it was simply too much money for a defender that is young and has a lot to offer but remains untested in the Premier League.
Sunderland still remains interested in signing Virgil van Dijk but a deal will only occur if his price tag is lowered.
When Gus Poyet was asked during a press conference about the possibility of signing players in January, he responded by saying: “I think it depends. January is difficult.There needs to be a lot of things coming together.It’s difficult for everything really’’
‘’Some people say to me ‘maybe you can get a player on loan who changes your season’’
“Where is that player?Unless it’s someone coming from a bad injury and needs to play, it’s difficult.Now if Man United want us to take Falcao for six months… We will do.But that doesn’t happen a lot.You need to be very smart in January.”
Sunderland is located in the bottom spots of the Premier League and some changes will have to be done in order for them to maintain themselves in a safe position away from the relegation zone.
Signing some quality players could help in this process.