“If I’m quite frank with you…” Kristjaan Speakman discusses his disappointment at Sunderland’s transfer failure.

Sunderland sporting director Kristjaan Speakman insists they are comfortable about the striker position at the club, as he revealed that they didn’t want to overpay in January.

Sunderland fail to bring in a striker

Even though the Black Cats sit 7th in the Championship table, there has been a lot of frustration around the club in the last month or so.

Michael Beale has had a mixed start since he was named as Tony Mowbray’s successor, and the club didn’t bring in a natural number nine in the window.

Mason Burstow, Nazariy Rusyn and Luis Semedo were all signed in the summer, but they have just two league goals combined so far. Therefore, many felt a striker had to be the priority in January.

So, there was some disappointment that the club failed to get a deal over the line, with the spotlight turning to Speakman.

Kristjaan Speakman explains Sunderland transfer stance

However, in an interview with the BBC, the important Sunderland official explained why they failed to sign a new striker, citing the challenges of the winter transfer window as well as their reluctance to pursue a player who wasn’t their top choice.

“The nine position is pretty much the same as the others; you have three or four targets, which you must obviously attempt to prioritize.” It’s always a good idea, in my opinion, to attempt and strengthen and enhance your forward stance.

“On three or four of them, we proceeded all the way to the wire, but ultimately, for a variety of reasons, it wasn’t meant to be. Accessibility and, in the end, decision.

“I think sometimes finance can get drawn into it. Ultimately, you’ve always got a choice if you want to go and spend more and more but there also comes a point where you have to evaluate that against the value. On this occasion that didn’t come through for us so it’s not something that was sitting around in huge frustration if I’m quite frank with you.

“We’re happy we improved the forward line with Romaine joining us and ultimately we’ve got three players in the building that we believe in and obviously we want to make sure that they can have the opportunity. They also need to step up and perform, don’t they?”

Sunderland can still reach the play-offs

Although Beale is working with a strong Championship team, he will undoubtedly be disappointed that he was unable to get a striker through the door.

They boast one of the league’s best players in Jack Clarke, who has assumed the role of goal scorer this year. There are talented players like Burstow and Rusyn elsewhere; as Speakman suggests, the goal is to enhance the current squad.

The play-offs are still very much a possibility for Sunderland right now, and they will feel confident in their ability to earn a return to the Premier League with the team they have. We shall know in May whether this is an expensive decision.