Sunderland could sign their best winger since Clarke in £20m deal

Sunderland secured their survival in the Premier League when they were held to a 1-1 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers away from home last weekend.

Regis Le Bris is the first manager since Sam Allardyce in the 2015/16 campaign to lead the Black Cats clear of the relegation zone in the top-flight. It has been a long time coming.

The French head coach will not want to stop there, though, because he has to ensure that the standards do not drop in the Premier League next season.

Sunderland have only won two of their last seven matches in all competitions and have conceded ten goals in their last three league matches, which shows the danger of not being at their best at the top level.

In order to avoid second season syndrome in the Premier League, the Black Cats must look to bolster their squad in the summer transfer window.

Why Sunderland must improve their wide options in the summer transfer window

The club must target additions in the wide positions when the window opens for business because they have not had enough production in the final third from their players in that area of the pitch.

None of Sunderland’s natural wide players have produced more than four goals or one assist in the Premier League, whilst no player in the entire squad has hit double figures for goals or assists.

Chemsdine Talbi has provided some moments of magic, with four goals, but a return of five goal contributions in 26 matches shows that he is still searching for consistency in his play in the final third.

Sunderland have not had a winger who provided consistent quality at the top end of the pitch since they sold Jack Clarke to Ipswich for £15m in the summer of 2024.

The English forward scored 24 goals and supplied 16 assists in his final two seasons in the Championship combined, and Le Bris could sign the club’s best winger since Clarke this summer.

Sunderland could sign their best winger since Jack Clarke

Sunderland and Everton are two of the clubs reportedly interested in a deal to sign Millwall winger Femi Azeez when the summer transfer window opens for business next month.

He was the subject of a £20m offer from Bournemouth in January, which shows the kind of money that it will take to secure his services this summer, and Ipswich were also keen on him.

Millwall are set to play Hull in the Championship play-offs this month, which means that they may yet make it to the Premier League, and Sunderland may have to wait to see what happens in their push for promotion before making their move.

Only two players created more ‘big chances’ than Azeez during the regular season in the Championship, and he created twice as many as Sunderland’s current leading ‘big chance’ creator – Xhaka (nine).

Along with being an exceptional creator as a left-footed right winger for the Lions, the 24-year-old talent also caught the eye with his ability to find the back of the net.

Azeez scored 11 goals from 8.35 xG in the second tier for Millwall, only missing nine ‘big chances’, which shows that he was a clinical and efficient finisher as a wide player, as he rarely passed up a chance to score.

The Nigerian attacker ended the regular season with 29 goals and ‘big chances’ created for the Lions in the Championship, whilst no Sunderland winger has produced more than 13 goals and ‘big chances’ created combined in the Premier League.

Not since Clarke scored 15 goals and created 12 ‘big chances’ in the 2023/24 Championship season have Sunderland had a wide player who has recorded 20 or more goals and ‘big chances’ created combined.

That means that Azeez could arrive at the Stadium of Light as the club’s best and most effective wide attacker since they allowed Clarke to sign for Ipswich two years ago, as he has the quality to score and create goals on a regular basis.

If Sunderland want to avoid second season syndrome in the Premier League, adding more quality to their attack by signing players such as Azeez could be crucial.