Sunderland. A club steeped in history and tradition. A club that has been seen a one of the staples of English football for many a year. A club that is sued to competing at the top level. 

These were once the ways in which many people would've outlined the way in which the club from the North East holds itself in English football society, however in more recent times the Black Cats have fallen on hard times.

Relegations from the Premier League and then subsequently the Championship has seen a dark cloud gather over the Stadium of Light for the past few seasons, with fans yearning for a return to where they believe they belong - the upper echelons of the English game.

Since arriving in League One back in 2018, the club has experienced play-off heartache and it's fair share of managerial disappointments, with the eye opening appointment of former Bristol City boss Lee Johnson representing the club's third full time managerial incoming since falling into the third tier.

The question now is whether the club will back their new man financially or not. Having done a respectable job during his time at Ashton Gate, Johnson was always back well in the transfer market by his previous employers and will no doubt be expecting the same at his new club.

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A lack of goals has been a clear issue for the Black Cats in recent months, with the League One outfit having only notched up a paltry 23 goals this term - a poor return for a club that has promotion ambitions.

One solution to their obvious problem would be to bring in a new frontman, with AFC Wimbledon's Joe Pigott representing a solid yet cheap option for the club if they do indeed dip into the market at the turn of the new year.

The 27-year-old frontman has been one of League One's leading marksmen for the past few years now and could well be eager to make the step up to a bigger club after notching an impressive 44 goals in just over 120 games for the Dons since arriving from non league Maidstone United back in 2018.

Given the vast financial gap between the two clubs, one would assume that Sunderland would be offer to offer Wimbledon the sort of deal that would be too hard to turn down for a club that are still seeking to pay off the money that it took to construct their new stadium at Plough Lane.

The former Charlton Athletic man would add something different to what the likes of Charlie Wyke, Danny Graham and Will Grigg offer up front, as he has shown that he is capable of scoring a wide variety of goals, including a scorcher away at his former club earlier this month.

With the Dons sure to be open to a deal if the price is right, Sunderland really do have the opportunity to show that they really mean business under Johnson and providing strong backing to their new man could well be the main factor towards gaining what has been a somewhat elusive promotion since dropping down to this level.