Sunderland have around 4 days left to make their final move in the transfer which will be extremely vital to their chances of surviving the drop this season. The Black Cats had made it a habit of pulling off miraculous escapes the last couple of years but judging the dire straits they are in this season, fans are fearing the worst.
One feels for David Moyes, who, after wretched spells at Real Sociedad and Manchester United, would have hoped for a more settled project at the Stadium of Light. But he has had to deal with horrible luck in the form of injuries and bans which have proved too steep for the team to climb and conquer. Hence, they are staring down into an abyss from the bottom of the pile and frankly speaking there doesn’t seem to be any way up for them right now.
The club is strapped for cash and Moyes has reiterated that they need to sell before they can even think about bolstering the team. The Scot currently is without 13 of his first team players and considering the position they are in, nothing worse can be anticipated by the gaffer.
Other than Jordan Pickford and Jermain Defoe, another player who had moderately impressed was Patrick Van Aanholt with his aggressive offensive forays. But by the looks of it, he is on the verge of joining Crystal Palace. Although Moyes will loathe losing any more players, the reported £14m they will be receiving for the player will go a long way in patching up their threadbare squad.
And one of the first names to have been linked with them is that of out of favour Swansea City left-back, Neil Taylor. The Wales international is suffering from a jaw fracture and although ironically, it will place him on the injured list, he will certainly resume playing in a few days.
With Van Aanholt’s departure, Sunderland will have no one on their left-hand side of the defence and Neil Taylor is expected to be a more than competent replacement. His displays, especially for his country in the Euros was exceptional and the subsequent fall down the pecking order at the Liberty Stadium took many by surprise. But he would like to be playing regularly once again and at the Stadium of Light, will be getting that exact opportunity.
Taylor has made more than 150 league appearances for Swansea since joining them from Wrexham in 2010 and has established himself as a reliable full-back at Premier League and international level. Taylor played every minute for Wales in last summer’s European Championships, scoring against Russia in the group stages. He was largely used at wing-back and hence will give Moyes options in slightly advanced areas as well.
