'Not easy to find' - Kristjaan Speakman explains why Sunderland struggle to sign strikers

There is a reason why Sunderland find it hard to sign strikers, says Kristjaan Speakman.

Kristjaan Speakman has explained why Sunderland were unable to sign a striker on transfer deadline day - and why they find it hard in general.

Because of the season-ending injury to Ross Stewart, the club went into the final hours of the window knowing they were in urgent need of striker help but were unable to get a deal over the line.

That leaves Joe Gelhardt as the only striker available to Tony Mowbray for the final 18 games of the Championship season.

Many fans have questioned how even a stop-gap solution wasn’t able to be found, if for nothing more than to provide a focal point of the attack.

Speakman, though, says it wasn’t what Sunderland do in possession that made it so hard to find a centre-forward, it was what they do when they are not in possession.

“We want to have variety, absolutely, but they also have to fit our playing style," Speakman told the Sunderland Echo. 

"As much as we talk about the in possession and that target man if you like, the link play, you’ve also got to look at what we do out of possession.

“The way we play requires the ability to get about the pitch, to apply pressure in the right areas and to turn the ball over to create opportunities. Finding the player who can do all that is not easy.”

The one striker that Sunderland did manage to sign certainly did fit that bill, though, and Speakman says they are extremely pleased to have attracted him to Wearside.

“Joe Gelhardt, for example, is totally aligned with how we’re trying to play in terms of what we need for a number nine,” he said.

“When the conversation was around Gelhardt, every single member of the recruitment and coaching staff was absolutely set on trying to sign him.”

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