Sunderland have beeen linked with Burton Albion’s Liam Boyce this month but that move now looks unlikely following Phil Parkinson’s latest update.
What did he say?
The Scottish Sun reported previously that the striker was a target of both Sunderland and Hearts earlier this month, but developments since have reduced the likelihood of him joining the Black Cats.
Parkinson has added Bailey Wright and Kyle Lafferty to his squad so far and he has pointed to the addition of the latter as a key factor in what he aims to do in the rest of the window.
Midfield seems to be a priority position with the likes of Will Vaulks and Ollie Norburn the most recent players to be targeted, amid the manager’s decision to focus away from striker reinforcements.
Speaking in his Doncaster pre-match press conference, as reported by The Chronicle, Parkinson said:
“With Liam [Boyce], he is a player I have known for a while and we’ve watched recently.
“But with Kyle Lafferty coming in, and with Charlie [Wyke] and Will [Grigg] already here, to bring in another [central striker] would probably be one too many.”
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Disappointing for fans?
Parkinson’s words have a lot of truth in them as the north-east outfit are well-stocked up-front, at least in terms of numbers.
As well as the players he has listed Marc McNulty is also available for selection, though he has shown a lack of quality that means Sunderland ought to get rid of him, with Jack Ross’ Hibernian interested.
Will Grigg is another who has underperformed considerably and is subject to interest from elsewhere, and considering the pair have scored a combined three league goals it would be no great loss to see them both depart.
Such a development would likely be a positive move as it could allow Parkinson to free up the wage bill and bring in his own players, but his lack of comment on that possibility indicates that it is not a likely outcome at this time.
As a result, Lafferty is under a lot of pressure to perform as the only attacking addition of the window so far, otherwise the Black Cats’ boss may have to heavily rely on Charlie Wyke for the rest of the season, with the striker already starting in each of the previous seven matches.
Who on earth is that?!?! Can you name all of these obscure January signings?
It can be argued that Parkinson’s view is a little short-sighted, therefore, and considering the recent run of form – going seven games unbeaten – Stewart Donald should be a little more willing to back his manager where necessary.
In other news, our team of Football FanCast writers have delivered their expert opinions on a possible addition to the Stadium of Light.
