Why Sunderland's transfer business could fail miserably

Paolo Di Canio's busy summer could cost Sunderland in the long run, will they hold on to their Premier League status?

When Paolo Di Canio took charge at Sunderland he instantly changed the fortunes of the Black Cats; but ultimately the Italian will be judged by his team's Premier League performances this year.


Many were surprised to see Sunderland so busy in the transfer market this summer. With fourteen players arriving at the Stadium of Light, many wondered if the Black Cats were being far too adventurous with their transfer policy.


When you look through the lists of names who arrived at Sunderland, just a few stick out as players who have made a big impression in a top flight league around Europe. Fabio Borini has much promise, but seems to be out of favour at Liverpool for the short term future at least. Jozy Altidore had shown some signs of being a brilliant player in the Dutch league, but looks to be some way off of the pace for the English top flight. Meanwhile, Emanuele Giaccherini has proven himself at the highest level but some would argue he still has yet to really prove himself to be a class player. For the rest, there are some serious question marks. Look at the likes of Vito Mannone, Andrea Dossena, Cabral and Valentine Roberge. These players have played top flight football but not regularly and not to a high level. Then other signings made by Sunderland such as Charis Mavrias and Ki Sung-Yeung just look strange and out of touch with the style of Sunderland's football.


Sunderland need to be careful. It is well known that if you sign too many players at once it takes time for the players to gel. In a 3-1 defeat against Arsenal, Sunderland were playing 6 new players. Arsenal were playing just two. Sunderland looked messy on the ball, short of ideas and lacking a cutting edge.


What Paolo Di Canio needs to do is pull his squad together, calling upon the experienced old heads to turn around their poor early season fortune.


When you look at Sunderland's squad; there just isn't enough experience. Seb Larsson showed himself to be a very useful player in recent years, but under Paolo Di Canio he has been confined to the bench. Carlos Cuellar is another player itching for first team football and has bags of experience, but Di Canio seems to prefer Valentin Roberge to the Spaniard. Even youngster Connor Wickham is looking an impressive forward, but he is not getting enough opportunity under his Italian manager. 


Where are the experienced heads? Ironically, it is not hard to imagine that if Paolo Di Canio is still in charge at Sunderland come January, it may be that he will need to go back into the transfer window yet again but this time to find an accomplished player with Premier League experience.