Jack Clarke, Bradley Dack and striker search latest: The Sunderland AFC transfer Q&A

Sunderland are continuing to try and strengthen their squad ahead of the new Championship season, while there has been significant speculation about potential departures in the weeks ahead.

In our weekly transfer Q&A, we run through all the latest…

So where do Sunderland stand in terms of incomings?

After a quiet period at the very beginning of pre-season training, it looks as if things are starting to move as the Championship season nears.

Tony Mowbray told us after the open training session earlier this week that he hoped to have attacking reinforcements in place by the time Ipswich Town visit the Stadium of Light next Sunday, and the signs at this stage are fairly promising.

The club are believed to be in the advanced stages of securing a deal for Sochaux striker Eliezer Mayende, a talented young striker who has become available due to some financial uncertainty at the Ligue 2 club. Not unlike Hemir, he has some senior experience but is clearly a player with significant room for growth. L’Equipe report that it will cost the club in the region of one million Euros, while there will also be a sell-on clause included in the deal.

It’s also understood that the club could well sign Bradley Dack, who left Blackburn Rovers upon the expiration of his contract earlier this summer.

Dack found his game time limited last season as he stepped up his return from a second ACL injury, but he brings stacks of Championship experience and could realistically play in any of the positions across the front line in Mowbray’s usual 4-2-3-1 shape. A deal in January was seen as impossible for financial reasons, but the landscape has shifted now that the player is a free agent. Whether Dack can recapture his very best form remains to be seen but it’s seen as a low risk, potentially very-high reward move.

The other clear priority at this stage is cover and competition for Anthony Patterson. An agreement with Manchester United for the transfer for Nathan Bishop is believed to be broadly in place. Though not finalised, it’s something that could well progress quickly once United return from their pre-season tour of the US next week.

Where would that leave Sunderland - if all that progresses as hoped?

Mowbray said earlier this week that he felt Sunderland would look to bring in ‘three or four’ signings before the end of the window.

Some of that business he anticipated happening over the next week, and some of it he anticipated happening towards the end of the window. It’s fair to surmise, then, that the potentially flurry of incomings mentioned above wouldn’t quite be the end even if all goes through.

There are some a couple of big decisions for Sunderland to make moving forward, one of which is whether they feel they have enough depth and quality to cover for Amad - who scored fourteen goals and chipped in with a few assists across last season. In central midfield, too, suddenly they look just a little lighter given that Jay Matete could potentially be out for up to ten weeks with a knee injury. Dack’s arrival of course offers some depth there, though he is very much more of an attacking midfielder. Corry Evans will be back to compete for his place at some stage, but that is thought to be a little while off yet.

So a little more business is likely towards the end of August, but to a certain extent it will depend on if there are any outgoings and how many there are if so. 

So what’s the latest on that front?

At the moment, not a great deal has changed.

Burnley have been trying to sign Jack Clarke for much of the summer but Mowbray made the situation clear earlier this week, stating that as of yet there had been no bid made that came close to matching Sunderland’s valuation. We explained why a significant bid would be needed for Sunderland to consider his departure in this piece, and as of yet one has not materialised.

Mowbray stressed again that Clarke is not pushing for a move. No conversations to that nature have taken place, he has trained well right through pre season and Mowbray believes he’s as focused and in form as ever. 

With no agreement reached on a new contract for Ross Stewart over 18 months after talks tentatively began, that is one obvious area where there could be movement. A number of clubs are monitoring the situation and he has a huge admirer in Southampton boss Russell Martin, who has tried to sign him in the past. The question is whether those clubs will move given that Stewart is still sidelined and will be so for a while longer. And if they do, whether the injury will mean the bid is lower than would make the deal worthwhile for Sunderland.

Stewart is, Mowbray said this week, hoping to be back fit and playing by the end of September. How that picture develops over the next few weeks might be key to the puzzle. 

There are other potential exits, with Isaac Lihadji linked with a move to Qatar and strong interest from Blackburn Rovers in Danny Batth. For now, though, nothing has developed significantly and both remain very much part of Mowbray’s plans ahead of this weekend’s fixtures. 

With Sunderland carrying a couple of defensive injuries and Blackburn’s position in the transfer market currently uncertain, Batth’s departure looks a lot less likely right now than it did a few weeks ago. In football, of course, these things can change quickly.