'Various reasons' - Kristjaan Speakman explains Sunderland striker failure

Signing a new senior striker appeared to be Sunderland's top priority in January, and Kristjan Speakman has explained why a deal failed to materialise.

Kristjaan Speakman said Sunderland did not sign a striker in January because they could not find value in the market.

Only two of Sunderland’s 40 Championship goals this season have come from strikers, highlighting what many see as a big deficiency in the squad.

Sunderland obviously agreed to some extent and they attempted to bring a striker in during January. Speakman, though, has now explained why it ‘was not to be.’

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"The nine position is very similar to all the rest of them," Speakman said when asked about why Sunderland failed to land a striker in January.

"You have three or four targets that you have to prioritise, and I think forward positions is always an area you'd like to strengthen if you can.

“We went right down to the wire on three or four of them, and then at the end of it we knew it wasn't to be for various reasons, availability being one of them.

"Ultimately finance gets drawn into it and there is a choice if you want to spend more and more but there becomes a point where you have to evaluate that against the value and on this occasion that didn't come through for us.

“It's not something around with huge frustration, to be honest. We improved the forward line with Romaine [Mundle] joining us and we've got three players in the building we believe in."

Sunderland have struggled for goals from strikers this season, but Speakman says that shouldn’t be mistaken for an inability to find the net.

Only three players have more Championship goals than Jack Clarke, and there has been a bit of a trend with wide players outscoring strikers this season, with Plymouth’s Morgan Whittaker another example.

For Speakman, that is an indicator that football is changing a little right now, and they need players to step up and score whether they are strikers or not.

"I think for most of the season creating chances has not been an issue for us," Speakman explained.

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"I think for a long time we have been right up there for XG and the various stats you'd want to look at. It's been about converting those opportunities. I think there is a lot of talk around nines. I think if you look into the stats and the detail there is a lot more goals coming from other areas of the pitch in every team in this league and other leagues.

"We need different goal scorers from different parts of the pitch and them two or three players to score some good numbers and hopefully that's what we can deliver."

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