It’s hard to know what the January transfer window will bring for any team, but Regis Le Bris has hinted at what he and Sunderland plan to do in the market next.
With a strong start to the season under their belt, Sunderland are still right up there mixing it at the top of the Championship table despite a run of five draws in a row.
Regis Le Bris brought in a number of new players over the summer as he looked to make his mark on the Sunderland squad while also inheriting some top young talent already at the club, too.
The recent run of results has not been a concern for Le Bris, and by the sounds of it, he is not about to push the club into doing anything rash in the transfer market anytime soon.
Sunderland will trust their young players before looking at transfers
In his latest press conference (via the Sunderland YouTube channel), Le Bris was asked whether he could shed any light on the club’s plans for January and insisted the young players in his team are the priority.
“Let’s wait one month,” Le Bris said. “We believe in the development and improvement of young players. When they came in, they were not ready but we are here to help them grow and we believe it is possible.”
“But in terms of external recruitment, we have to push our players before we look in January, and we will see if our players are ready or if they need more time. Our background is that we believe in the young players and their learning curve, so we shouldn’t just focus on external recruitment.”
Sunderland have the youngest squad in the Championship right now, with an average age of 23.3 from the 25 players used this season.
| Team | Average age of squad | Players used |
|---|---|---|
| Sunderland | 23.3 | 25 |
| Sheffield United | 24.0 | 26 |
| Stoke City | 24.0 | 27 |
| Hull City | 24.4 | 27 |
| Norwich City | 24.4 | 28 |
Their upcoming opponents, Sheffield United, are next in the list (joint with Stoke City) with an average age of 24-years-old.
The emergence of players like Chris Rigg and Tommy Watson has helped inject the Sunderland lineup with youth, while even the relatively experienced Jobe Bellingham is still only 19 years old.
Sunderland face stick or twist decision in the New Year
With Sunderland currently competing near the top of the table, the club’s hierarchy will face an interesting decision in January: do they invest big and hope to get across the line, or play it safe and treat this season as a year of progress?
Regardless of the result against Sheffield United on Friday night, the Black Cats will still be very much in the mix for promotion, especially when it comes to looking at those play-off places.
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Diff | Points |
| 1 |  Leeds |
17 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 31 | 12 | 19 | 35 |
| 2 |  Sheffield Utd |
17 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 24 | 9 | 15 | 35 |
| 3 |  Burnley |
17 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 21 | 6 | 15 | 33 |
| 4 |  Sunderland |
17 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 26 | 12 | 14 | 33 |
| 5 |  Watford |
17 | 9 | 2 | 6 | 26 | 24 | 2 | 29 |
| 6 |  Middlesbrough |
17 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 29 | 20 | 9 | 27 |
One or two top-quality signings could really help maintain their promotion push, and there are certainly a few Premier League attackers Sunderland should look at to add an extra cutting edge to their lineup.
But, as we have seen in the past with clubs like Derby County, throwing money around with reckless abandon can sometimes backfire dramatically.
It seems Sunderland will play this smart and keep faith in the players they have rather than overexerting themselves in the transfer market, and that can only serve the club well in the long term.
