Sunderland are now heading into a season defining January transfer window following the departure of Everton loanee Ellis Simms. The Toffees recalled the 21-year-old after an impressive start to the season with the Black Cats, scoring seven goals in 17 games.
The Black Cats have just Ross Stewart left to lead the line, a similar predicament to 12 months ago in the last January window. However, with just six months left of the Scottish strikers contract, Sunderland are facing a headache in the upcoming window.
Simms' departure has somewhat taken the shine off an impressive return to the second tier of English football. Sunderland have defied all expectations and sit fourth in the Championship despite a turbulent start to the season.
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The departure of Alex Neil, injury to Stewart and then Simms, it's been far from plain sailing for the Wearsiders, especially when you cater in the recent departure. To be sitting fourth at this stage of the season is testament to the hard work of the backroom staff at the Stadium of Light.
No Sunderland fan expected the club to be challenging for a play-off place in their first season back in the Championship and of course, there's plenty of football to be played between now and the end of the season. Prior to Simms' departure there was a real sense of belief, but if they don't address the ongoing striker situation it may feel like an opportunity missed.
Sunderland had no control over Simms' recall, but they did however, have the ability to avoid a repeat of last January. You cannot knock the recruitment process so far with it reaping it's rewards, but the model is about to get it's first real test.
The Wearsiders have the option to extend Stewart's contract - which is a no brainer - but reports last week suggested talks between the two parties had stalled. Sunderland now have the decision to cash in on Stewart and keep faith in their recruitment, or pay the Scotland international what he's asking for.
Simms' departure could free up wages to offer to his former strike partner, but it's unclear how much Sunderland contributed to his wages and how much Stewart is asking for. Kyril Louis-Dreyfus spoke at length about creating a sustainable plan to get back to the top flight and selling Stewart would be the first big name departure, but with that comes risks.
The club understandably wants to improve the current crop of players and there's no guarantee that they'll be able to do than in January, where prices of players are so often inflated.
We've already seen this season just how good Mowbray's side are when the Scot is playing and a play-off berth, with an opportunity to return to the Premier League, would be so much more than a transfer fee received for Stewart. The current owners should heed the lessons from Josh Maja's departure back in League One.
The Black Cats would have had to deal with the fallout of an unhappy player, but they were almost certainties for promotion prior to his departure. The Championship is a much more unforgivable league than League One and a run of bad results could see the belief dissipate just as quickly as it started to grow.
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