16 May 2013 4:00 | By Chris Young PAOLO DI CANIO is hopeful Sunderland can land around half a dozen new faces during the summer to boost the Black Catsâ threadbare squad. With Sunderlandâs Premier League status assured, attention has immediately turned towards altering the make-up of a side that has flirted with relegation for each of the last two seasons. Agent and consultant Roberto De Fanti, expected to be confirmed as Sunderlandâs new director of football, has been working on potential new recruits for several weeks, with the Black Cats close to sealing a deal for Maritimo defender Valentin Roberge among others. Since succeeding Martin OâNeill, Di Canio has been operating with a paper-thin squad deprived of long-term injury victims Steven Fletcher, Lee Cattermole and Wes Brown before suffering the subsequent loss of Craig Gardner and Stephane Sessegnon to suspension. Di Canioâs options will be further depleted when on-loan pair Kader Mangane and Danny Rose, ineligible for Sundayâs trip to Spurs, return to their parent clubs during the summer and the contracts of both Titus Bramble and Matt Kilgallon come to an end. And with Di Canio keen to add quality, as well as quantity, for next season, the head coach is keen to have several new signings at his disposal. When asked whether he was looking for six or seven new players, Di Canio replied: âYes, that number could be a right, a bit less or a bit more, it depends. But, approximately, the number is right. We will see. âWe need more than a few. âI donât want to say âa lotâ, because you never know what âa lotâ means, but we need to refresh the squad for many reasons. âWeâve had big problems with injuries and having to play many young players. âI want to play attacking football and if we miss some players in crucial areas of the field... âWeâve missed players. On Sunday, weâll be travelling with four kids, it means we havenât got many players, especially up front.â While Di Canio says he is yet to sit down and hold talks with owner Ellis Short, he has discussed transfer targets with both De Fanti and chief executive Margaret Byrne. âI have already made it clear what I would like,â added DI Canio. âBut I want to focus my attention on the next game. âItâs clear what I would like to happen, to build a team and play football that the fans will enjoy.â
6 maybe to go straight into the first team but I can see more than 6 coming in, 9 or 10 would be my guess
6-7 in the summer then 2-3 in January I think If we do sign lets say 7 in the summer we need RB, LB, 2 x CB, CM/CAM, 2 x Forwards
seems as though he will definately come in I think at a minimum we need RB LB CB x2 CM W CF x2 maybe even another CB and CM depending on who leaves
tbf it sounds as if he has signed already Personally would try and keep Mangane and Rose as they are already integrated with the team
Plus Fernandez and Calbero make 3. With the ruling that premier league clubs can only increase wages spending by 4 million next year not hopefull of many 'big' signings
Another season of rebuilding. ffs is it gonna be this every time. We should be in a position now to be just tweaking the squad with 1-2 quality signings each window. I'll still be there tho.
But how good is Mengane?? None of us have seen him kick a ball hardly since he signed. PDC is picking Carlos over him just like Marty did, so he can't be that good! We need better than Carlos if we want to progress!
Does he have any other choice Talc, you have to offload those current wasters and that takes time. And if he were to get rid, then we will be needing those replaced making our numbers needed for a decent squad at about 12-15 players. Big ask.
He will have to keep those still under contract unless he can sell them. For example Wes Brown still has a contract whereas Bramble and Kilgallon don't.