After four years away from the second tier of English football, Sunderland fans are probably quite content with how the club's return to the Championship has gone so far.

Over 40,000 Black Cats fans welcomed their players back at the Stadium of Light last week, but they were pegged back late on by Coventry City, which secured a point for both sides on the opening weekend of the season.

Then this past weekend, Alex Neil took his team on the long trip south to a seasoned second-tier side in the form of Bristol City, and the Scot sent supporters home happy following a 3-2 victory.

There seems to be no issue with Sunderland in-front of goal, having netted four times in two matches, but you'd have to say that there's still some business to do in the transfer market before the window slams shut on September 1.

 

 

 

 

One area of the pitch that Neil could potentially look at is the engine room, with potentially a lack of real quality options over the course of a whole season.

Corry Evans and youngster Dan Neil have started both matches of the Championship season, with Carl Winchester, Luke O'Nien and Jay Matete also options.

The fact that James McCarthy has been linked with a move to Wearside though suggests that Neil is on the hunt for a new midfielder, and they could do worse than looking at Aston Villa starlet Tim Iroegbunam if it's a more defensive-minded one that they feel is needed.

Iroegbunam has only been at Villa Park for a year, having jumped ship from West Bromwich Albion in 2021 after winning their Academy Player of the Season award.

Initially starting in Villa's under-23's, Iroegbunam was very much a regular in the Premier League 2 and the EFL Trophy, and after impressing in those disciplines, the midfielder's levels in first-team training saw Steven Gerrard hand him a senior debut off the bench in a cameo against Brighton back in February.

A similar appearance followed against Leicester City, before a first start came in April against Norwich City - a performance which impressed Gerrard.

This summer though, the arrival of Boubacar Kamara from Marseille to battle with Douglas Luiz for the holding midfield spot under Gerrard is almost surely going to consign Iroegbunam to under-23's football.

That is unless a loan move can be sorted out for the 19-year-old, and he's already been linked earlier in the summer with a whole host of clubs - Blackburn Rovers, QPR and Sheffield United just to name a few.

None of them can offer what Sunderland can though - 40,000-plus fans packed into the Stadium of Light on a weekly basis and genuine first-team opportunities week in, week out.

If Iroegbunam is available before the end of the transfer window, then Sunderland should definitely enter the running for his signature.