The Three Transfers Road to Improvement: Sunderland

(Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

In the 16th part of my "Three Transfers" series, I shall be taking a look at Sunderland, a club that lost Roy Keane halfway through the season, and ended up stumbling through the rest of the campaign to finally secure their top flight status at the end.

With Steve Bruce at the helm now, bigger and better things are expected at the Stadium of Light, and from what we saw with Bruce's Wigan, there is cause for optimism for the Sunderland faithful.

Of course, a new manager does not fix everything, and if they are to improve on this season, then Bruce will have to bring in a few new faces. Here are my suggestions on who should be brought in, and why.

STRIKER

With Djibril Cisse heading back to Marseille, Sunderland are left with David Connolly, David Healy, Michael Chopra, Daryl Murphy, and of course Kenwyne Jones as their striking options.

Of the five players listed above, only Kenwyne Jones is Premiership quality, and as such, a new striker should definitely be the priority for Steve Bruce.

Sunderland have been linked with Darren Bent in the tabloids, and for good reason, too.

Strong and fast, Bent would be the perfect complement for Kenwyne Jones' aerial prowess.

Last season showed that Jones and Cisse worked quite well together, so Bruce would do well to try and replicate it by getting a pacy forward like Bent in. In fact, it could even work better than Jones and Cisse, as Bent is a much more accomplished finisher than Cisse will ever be.

Harry Redknapp has made it clear that Bent would be allowed to leave this summer, and as such, a reasonable offer would probably be enough to secure his signature.

Alternatively, Steve Bruce could look to bring in Michael Owen.

Yes, he is not the same player he once was, as injuries have robbed him of his pace, but the guile and finishing instincts still remain, and he could definitely be a good addition to Sunderland's squad.

While not quite as speedy as Darren Bent anymore, Owen is a natural goalscorer and you never get enough of such players.

His contract runs out in the summer, and with little interest from the top clubs, Sunderland could pick up a good player for nothing. His wages might be high, but Sunderland could try to negotiate a contract based more on appearances, so that they are covered in case he suffers another one of those long-term injuries that have plagued his career.

To top it all off, he would be moving from Newcastle straight to Sunderland, which surely would not go down well with the Magpies at St James' Park, but will probably delight the Sunderland fans.

CENTRE-BACK

Currently, Sunderland have Paul McShane, Calum Davenport, Danny Collins and Anton Ferdinand who can play in this position.

None of the above four players have looked very convincing last season, and additions are definitely needed to strengthen this very crucial area of the team.

As such, I would suggest that Steve Bruce go for Oguchi Onyewu, the giant American.

Onyewu stands at 1.96m tall, and is strong in the air, so on paper he would be a good partner for Anton Ferdinand, who is relatively more comfortable on the ground.

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