Who are Sunderland’s new signings?

As the transfer window nears its close, just who are the players that Big Sam has brought in to strengthen Sunderland’s squad. I use the word strengthen optimistically, as it is very rare that the club actually sign anyone capable of strengthening a Premier League squad.

It was abundantly clear that Sunderland were not cut out for the Premier League this season during their performance in a 1-1 draw with Bournemouth at the Stadium of Light. The first half in particular showed our lack of quality, as we seemed to rarely find one of our players with any single pass.

But can our new signings change all that?

Dame N’Doye

As it looks likely Steven Fletcher is fancying a move away and down to the fact he isn’t good enough, we signed Dame N’Doye on loan from Trabzonspor.

At first, most Sunderland fans were a bit sceptical about this transfer, but when you look at his stats it may not be a bad signing.

The Senegalese striker scored five goals in 15 games while on loan at Hull City last season, and that was in a team that was also battling relegation. His goals almost secured Premier League survival for Steve Bruce’s men, and he even scored the opening goal against Sunderland in a 1-1 draw. But then again, even I could probably score against Sunderland.

N’Doye scored five goals in 15 games during a loan spell at Hull last season.

I think the thing that worries us Mackems is more who N’Doye isn’t, than who he is. Yes, he scored goals but once again it is a signing that has been battling relegation whenever he has appeared. Also, Big Sam will have to play N’Doye alongside Defoe as opposed to having one striker. It’s becoming ever more frustrating playing strikers on the wing. Hopefully he’ll be a good partner for Defoe as he is big and strong, but we’ll soon see.

Jan Kirchhoff

When we signed Jan Kirchhoff I was quietly confident that we’d signed a good defender. How wrong I was. Kirchhoff had arguably one of the worst debuts any Sunderland player has ever had against Tottenham, although introducing him at such a time in the game where we were defending comfortably was quite a baffling decision from Big Sam.

You knew it was going to go wrong when he ran on the pitch with his training top underneath his strip. The German then decided to lethargically stick out a leg at Christian Eriksen’s shot, which deflected into the net. He then proceeded to run around aimlessly and give the ball away then to top it off; he gave away the most pointless penalty.

Hopefully this was down to lack of match fitness, but at the moment it isn’t looking good for Jan. This is probably why we decided to go back in for Lamine Koné.

Lamine Koné

After twice undergoing negotiations and deciding we didn’t want Lamine Koné, Allardyce all of a sudden decided he did want him and successfully secured the Ivory Coast international.

Again, Sunderland fans don’t really know what to make of this one, especially when the club previously pulled out of deal on two occasions. Is he good enough for the Premier League? We’ll soon find out. He has made over 100 appearances for Lorient so he must be half decent but then again, the Ligue 1 is completely different to the Premier League.

From his Youtube clips he seems like a strong, no-nonsense defender but then again, Jozy Altidore and Ignacio Scocco looked like world beaters on Youtube.

Hopefully this man’s debut won’t go as bad as Jan Kirchhoff’s and maybe we can give Wes Brown’s weary old legs a break.

Steve Harper

Having sat on Newcastle’s bench for 20 years, I was quite surprised to see that Steve Harper had signed for Sunderland.

The 40-year-old, yes you read that correct, has supposedly been brought in to aid Jordan Pickford’s development between the sticks, but I can’t help but feel there could have been some better options.

Then again, Harper does have a lot of experience in football, he has his coaching badges and it is reported that he is in fact a boyhood Sunderland fan. Hopefully he teaches Pickford more than how to sit on a bench.

There’s still a few days left of the transfer window so I hope that Sunderland can add a bit more quality because let’s be honest, we’re going down with this current squad.
As the transfer window nears its close, just who are the players that Big Sam has brought in to strengthen Sunderland’s squad. I use the word strengthen optimistically as it is very rare that Sunderland actually sign anyone capable of strengthening a Premier League squad.

It was abundantly clear that Sunderland are not cut out for the Premier League this season during their performance in a 1-1 draw with Bournemouth at the Stadium of Light. The first half in particular showed our lack of quality, as we seemed to rarely find a Sunderland player with any single pass. But can our new signings change all that?