Sunderland’s form in the first few months of the season worried their fans but to Moyes’ credit, they have managed to pick up vital wins in the last couple of months that has given them a chance. However, they still need to add a few players in the winter transfer window to ensure that they give themselves a good chance.
The problem is, they don’t really have the funds to do so and unless they sell first, the provision of signing new players is not going to be possible. The club have often bought players with a poor resale value and their high wage structure has taken a large chunk of the money they make through the broadcast revenue.
There were rumours that Jordan Pickford and Lamine Kone might be offloaded to make some capital to reinvest in more number of players. Selling Pickford might be out of the equation now that he’ll miss a lot of games through an injury. Kone has a few suitors but will they offer him the money Sunderland are asking? If they do, then Sunderland could reinvest a part of it in Ipswich Town defender Adam Webster.
Webster started out at Portsmouth and has seen an upward trajectory in his performances which resulted in Ipswich making the move for the talented defender earlier this year. Still very young, he has been tipped by his manager to emulate the likes of John Stones and Rob Holding and play in the top flight.
Webster will cost the club as much as £4m which nearly fourth of the fee they’ll be getting for Kone. However, with the ageing O’Shea and the inconsistent Ndong at the back, Webster might not be the only signing. Obviously, Moyes has plans of wisely spending the fee they’ll be getting for Kone and signing an experienced centre-back and perhaps a good holding midfielder is imperative. Jan Kirchhoff’s injury has been a massive blow to the Black Cats as his expertise in the holding midfield is unmatched by any other midfielder they currently have.
Webster has put in some good performances and might be one for the future, but to sign a lad who is just 21 and expect him to save your club from relegation would be too much. Another reason why they’re going after him could be a potentially high resale value, which in foresight is another gamble. Sunderland have recouped minimal money on player sales and that’s one of the reasons why they are in massive debt.
Whoscored indicate Webster’s biggest assets are his tackling, intercepting passes and aerial duels. Well, he’s a defender, those are facets he should be excelling at. His weakness is distributing the ball as he’s managed a pass percentage of just 59.9% which is hardly good enough. Considering Sunderland’s last outing against Man United where players gave away the ball cheaply to concede two goals, he better buckle up on his passing.
