Sunderland's Left Back Conundrum

Sunderland's Left Back Conundrum

At the end of last season, Sunderland had a healthy supply of left backs. Costa Rican International Bryan Oviedo was time and time again a class above in League One, Reece James was an adept back up if not a little injury prone, and youngster Denver Hume was proving to be raw but a one for the future.

Two games into the season, Sunderland are now understocked and constantly being exposed down this left hand side. Oviedo's departure was expected; signed in the Premier League, his wages unfortunately needed to be moved off the books following the failure to win promotion. He got a deserved move to his ex-club and Champions League hopefuls FC Copenhagen, showcasing how highly regarded he is thought of elsewhere.

However, a more surprising move was Reece James' to Doncaster. Weeks earlier a contract extension was negotiated, which did mean when he moved Sunderland could cash in on a fee. Even at the time it seemed a naive decision, as Oviedo was always expected to be move on. Although an unspectacular player, he was a handy squad player and often reliable when Oviedo was out. A replaceable kind of player, but it appears his contribution has been underestimated until now.

Which brings me onto 21 year old Denver Hume. Given his debut in the 3-0 thrashing of Wolves to end Sunderland's disastrous Championship campaign two seasons ago, Hume featured intermittently last season for Sunderland, admittedly his chances hampered by injury. He does possess a yard of pace and is able to drive forward on the ball well. However, he is often caught out positionally and in particular against Ipswich he was constantly exposed for this, often caught too high up the pitch. Against Oxford, it was his final ball that was lacking. Often found in areas high up the pitch, he was constantly unable to pick out a cross when in decent positions. Although not the sole reason we didn't beat Oxford, it would be fair to say that if it had been Oviedo, or even perhaps James playing that day, you would've expected them to be far more creative on the ball. The warning signs have been there in pre-season regarding Hume as well. A mistake against Belenenses cost the only goal in a 1-0 defeat, whilst he was constantly exposed by the quick Heerenveen wingers in the last friendly. It is not to say that Hume won't be good enough in the future, but he currently looks out of his depth and perhaps a loan move to League 2 would've better suited him this season.

Onto the actual recruitment. The fact that Sunderland have found themselves in this position is rather worrying. Although there are 3 weeks left in the transfer window, Sunderland shouldn't have been in a position where they only have one senior left back, let alone one who needs time to develop. So what are the options for Sunderland? Rumours of Martin Olsson coming in as a free transfer has already been dampened by Ross and there are yet to be any substantial links with other players. Experience will be key, so dipping into Premier League/Championship U23 squads would be less than ideal. 

Hume is missing against Accrington tomorrow so once again either a new system will need to be tried, or more than likely either O'Nien or McLaughlin will deputise. Although they will offer a short term fix tomorrow night, Sunderland desperately need to strengthen in that department, and should look to do so by Saturday before what is already a crunch match v Portsmouth.