Sunderland boss Alex Neil has admitted his side still have plenty to do in the transfer market this summer despite the season now being just under three weeks away.

The club are looking to strengthen their options upon their return to the Championship following their League One play-off success.

The club have already signed Dan Ballard and Jack Clarke, whilst also turning Leon Dajaku's loan move into a permanent one.

That is not enough for Neil, though, who wants more.

"We know we need to add more, that's obvious," Neil told the Sunderland Echo.

"The difficulty you've got is to get the right deals, at the right price, within the structure we've got, sometimes you need to wait a little bit.

"We've got two players in who are on the up, their careers going in the right direction, and that's what our model is.

"To get those players is not easy and a lot of hard work has gone into that. So we're really pleased with that, but equally we know there's a lot to do."

The Black Cats kick off their 2022/23 Championship campaign on the 30th July with a home match against Coventry City.

Whether or not more signings will have arrived by then remains to be seen, with the Black Cats boss stating that none were imminent when asked whether the club were close to agreeing any other deals.

 

 

"Listen, there's no one round the corner ready to come in tomorrow morning." Neil responded.

"We have got discussions ongoing on a number of players where we're talking on a daily basis.

"So we just need to wait and see what happens."

The Verdict

A very open and honest assessment of the summer so far by Alex Neil here.

He could easily have came out and said he was happy with what he had, but instead admitted that he knows the club need to stregnthen.

That is clearly easier said than done, though, although you have to admire the business the club have done so far.

Ballard and Clarke are both young, talented players, with big futures ahead of them.

Perhaps now is the time for Neil to look for some more veteran additions to his ranks.