Wearmen are close to d eal for midfielder Winchester
BOSS JOHNSON IS ALSO KEEN ON LOAN SIGNINGS TO BOOST SQUAD
LEE Johnson is aiming to tie up the signing of Carl Winchester over the next 24 hours - and will then switch his focus to recruiting young talent from the Premier League to strengthen Sunderland’s squad.
The Black Cats have agreed a deal to sign 27-year-old midfielder Winchester from League Two Forest Green Rovers and that is expected to be completed either today or tomorrow.
Head coach Johnson has said he wants to bring in ‘two or three’ players this month and while the experienced Winchester is set to become his first signing he will also look bring in younger players with potential on loan who - crucially - will not count towards the salary cap.
Sunderland have little headroom available under the £1.5m cap imposed by the EFL and may need to offload players before they can make more senior signings, although the situation is far from straightforward.
Johnson said: “You have to remember that even when you move players out it does not necessarily free up salary-cap headroom.
“The rules are quite complex and we have had to get a lot of clarification around it because certain scenarios we have tried to create in our mind’s eye have not been possible.
“We just have to be patient with that but if we can get one signing through the door today or tomorrow, we have also another two irons in the fire in terms of under-21 talent from the Premier League which are options for us.”
Sunderland parted company with head of recruitment Tony Coton and head of football operations Richard Hill in the summer, leaving then-boss Phil Parkinson in charge of transfers.
However, Parkinson’s sacking at the end of November, followed by the appointment of Kristjaan Speakman as sporting director and then Johnson as head coach, means the new men had to start preparing for the January window with virtually a blank sheet of paper.
While Johnson inherited a decent firstteam squad, he says a recruitment structure needs to be put in place for the longterm - grinning that he would love to be around long enough to be seen as Sunderland’s answer to legendary Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger.
Johnson added: “We have been left with no recruitment department, no historic lists, nothing has been left behind so we are doing everything from scratch, utilising our knowledge from our previous clubs and contacts. “Infrastructure-wise there is a lot to do here.
“What I would say is the team is good, that is the strong part - the top of the pyramid is good and credit where it is due there - but infrastructure-wise, to get to where we want to go and for it to be sustainable, there is a lot we have still to do and everybody knows that.
“We all get caught up game-to-game, moment-to-moment, but I see this as a long-term project.
“I want to be successful in the short term but I would also like to be here for a very long time.
“If I am the Arsene Wenger of Sunderland I will be more than happy!”
Johnson has drawn up lists of potential candidates to strengthen key positions in the team but admits the transfer market is constantly changing.
However he has vowed not bring in players just for the sake of it, saying a bloated squad ‘devalues the shirt’ and makes it impossible to develop the kind of tight-knit group he wants to create.
He said: “In terms of forward players, all across the front three, we have a load of names.
“The variables, though, are constantly changing - the salary cap comes into it, a player goes out and frees up certain money or an under 21 player becomes available, your number one pick of the draft is not available.
“We are always trying to improve the squad, everyone knows that, but that does not always mean it is possible because we already have good players.
“It might be you go all the way to the last day of the window and someone becomes available at a price we can afford.
“They have to be affordable, accessible, available and match fit - I will not sign anybody who is not all of those things because in the short-term there are so many important games.
“What I don’t want to do is over-fill the squad with numbers.
“If you look back at Sunderland squads over a period of time, you can see how overpopulated they were and all that does is devalue the shirt in one sense because you are just bringing a player in rather than working to improve one you have already.
“You need to work with players and build that team spirit.
“My experience has always been that in a tight-knit group normally everyone knows where they sit in the hierarchy or structure of the squad, and if that changes it is either through injury or excellent form and that is what creates the competitive environment we are after.”
I want to be successful in the short term but would also like to be here for a very long time Lee Johnson