Phil Smith has been speaking on The Roar podcast about the key mistake Sunderland made in the January transfer window.
Sunderland weren’t extremely active in the transfer market last month, although a lot still happened, with Lee Johnson being sacked and Jermain Defoe being one of two deadline-day arrivals on Wearside.
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However, they also saw Tom Flanagan depart on a permanent basis, while the Black Cats failed to bring in a replacement or sufficient backup at left-back to youngster Dennis Cirkin, which has seemingly left them struggling at the back, as Smith alluded to on the podcast.
Smith believes that not strengthening the backline in January has caused a big problem for Sunderland.
He said: “Not replacing Denver Hume, I think, was a big mistake, ultimately. I understand that in the long term, Niall Huggins is going to be a really, really strong option for that position and he’s going to be a big player for the club.
“But as we’ve all said, you have to try and get out of this division as well and to not bring someone in, even on loan, to compete with Dennis Cirkin, I think at the moment is a big problem.
“It’s not singling out Dennis Cirkin, I think there are quite a few players in that boat, but it just shows where some key areas in the January window now are really having a significant effect on the pitch.”
TIF Thoughts on Sunderland’s problems…
Cirkin was brought in over the summer from Tottenham Hotspur, but it’s quite a lot to ask him to be the club’s first-choice left-back in League One in his first full season in first-team football. However, the club clearly believe he is up to it by not bringing in added competition in January.
While this could be a good way to show faith in the youngster, he’s the club’s only recognised left-back, which is baffling when Sunderland are going for promotion and often play twice a week, so they will either be forced to reshuffle their backline or get a 19-year old to play a lot of minutes and have very little rest.
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