Sunderland’s sole focus is going to be on promotion back to the Championship, with the Black Cats desperate to begin their rise back through the Football League after a disappointing couple of years.

The League One promotion race is tight and Sunderland perhaps face more competition than they might’ve expected. What’s done in terms of transfers over the next 24 hours could be key for Jack Ross’ side and their rivals.

For Sunderland, a striker will be the priority after Josh Maja departed, but the capture of Grant Leadbitter yesterday was a real coup.

Leadbitter is an experienced head and has a touch of class about him, with him on board, Sunderland supporters should feel confident of edging over the line in the race for promotion.

The midfielder might be 33 now and past his best, but the experience he’s going to bring to the middle of the park will be invaluable and he should breeze through the remaining League One fixtures.

In a career stretching 15 years, Leadbitter has 444 league appearances under his belt, 111 of which came at the Stadium of Light between 2003 and 2009. In that time the midfielder has won promotions, suffered relegations and played in the Premier League. All experience that’s going to be vital to the rollercoaster Sunderland will find themselves on in the coming months.

Leadbitter might not seem a major coup at first glance for Sunderland due to his little impact at Middlesbrough this season, but what he will bring to the dressing room will be important and his class will show on the pitch.

Other targets need to be signed in the next 24 hours to give Sunderland the best chance of promotion, but adding Leadbitter to their engine room means that Ross is now looking for the icing on the cake, with everything else ready to go for one final push.