In-depth look at Sunderland’s summer transfer market, including late offers for strikers and where promotion ambitions stand now that a free agent from Man City has formally committed to join them.

It was a deadline day broadly in line with what we have come to expect from Sunderland.

They were very busy right up until the final moments, just beating the 11pm deadline to conclude a deal for Gent striker Ahmed Abdullahi. They invested heavily in some hugely exciting talent that fans will be eagerly anticipating seeing more of after the international break, and yet the question of whether they have moved their squad closer to being ready to compete for promotion will be fiercely debated. While encouraged by much of the business, fans woke up on Saturday morning still scratching their heads at the thought that they still can’t say with any certainty that they have the options up top they need for the winter ahead.

In two of their deadline-day deals, Sunderland continued a positive trend of this summer window in showing that they have learned lessons from the way last season’s campaign so badly drifted away in its latter months. Experience on and off the pitch was an obvious issue as any hope of a play-off campaign ebbed away, the club’s recruitment focused too heavily on those for the future and failing to find the right balance with those ready to hit the ground running. The arrival of Simon Moore as back-up goalkeeper was an encouraging start and the addition of Alan Browne a very welcome display of pragmatism. That continued on deadline day, Chris Mepham a smart

addition who has not played much for Bournemouth in recent times but arrives with well over 100 appearances across the top two tiers under his belt. And while there will be a little bit of an adaptation period, the Ligue 1 and Champions League experience of Salis Adbul Samed should allow him to make a significant impact this season. That signing also spoke to a welcome shift of thinking behind the scenes, the lack of a genuine holding midfielder since Corry Evans’ injury a regular source of frustration over the last 18 months. Sunderland’s comments in public have

consistently suggested that they didn’t see an issue or a position they now had a need for; Samed’s arrival means Régis Le Bris now has genuine variety in a key part of the pitch. Add the talented Ian Poveda to the mix and this was a window in which some very good business was done.