Deadline day became zzzedline day on Wearside. Sunderland fans hoping that their club would be busy working on additions right up to the 11pm cut-off were in for a disappointment.
During a strangely subdued deadline day, Sunderland were largely absent from the conversation. There was talk that the club was looking to add a goalkeeper, with some speculation about a move to bring Italian Vito Mannone back to the club.
Sunderland were rumoured to be one of several clubs interested in Barnsley midfielder Callum Styles. And the club was also trying to add a centre-back, and a striker.
READ MORE: Sunderland allow Carl Winchester to make deadline day loan move to Shrewsbury Town
But by 6.30pm nothing had come to fruition and word came that Sunderland were expecting no incomings, and by 10pm the only outgoing saw Carl Winchester join League One Shrewsbury Town on loan for the remainder of the season. In fairness, there had been a flurry of additions on the eve of deadline day.
Edouard Michut joined on loan from Paris St Germain on Wednesday morning, Abdoullah Ba's move from Le Havre was confirmed just before Sunderland kicked-off against Rotherham United, and Amad Diallo's loan switch from Manchester United was announced at half-time. New head coach Tony Mowbray said after the game that he was 'hopeful' there would be more incomings over the next 24 hours, but that has not proved to be the case.
So where does this leave Sunderland? Well the first-team squad has no more depth now than it did at the end of last season.
Setting to one side Leon Dajaku and Jack Clarke, who were on loan with the Wearsiders last season and have since joined on permanent transfers, eight players have departed over the summer and there have been eight new arrivals. Lee Burge, Aiden McGeady, Arbenit Xhemajli, and Will Grigg all left when their contracts expired, while Thorben Hoffmann, Nathan Broadhead, and Callum Doyle returned to their parent clubs.
Jack Diamond was on loan at Harrogate last season, and has joined Lincoln on loan this term; and Winchester looks set to see out the remainder of his contract with the Shrews. Alex Bass, Aji Alese, Daniel Ballard, Jewison Bennette, and Ba, have arrived on permanent deals, while Ellis Simms, Michut, and Diallo, have joined on loan.
But while the numbers are unchanged - and key assets such as Ross Stewart have been retained - some concerns still remain. Mowbray has only been in post for a little over 48 hours and is still getting to grips with the squad he has inherited, however he is likely to have broadly the same concerns as his predecessor Alex Neil.
Namely that the club is still short of specialist cover in key positions, and that while some undoubtedly talented youngsters have arrived in recent weeks from overseas, there is no knowing how well - or how quickly - they will adapt to life in England and Championship football.
Firstly, the lack of cover. Sunderland had two senior goalkeepers in Lee Burge and Thorben Hoffmann last season, backed up by Anthony Patterson who ended the season as first choice and fully deserves to have retained the number one shirt this term.
With Burge and Hoffmann gone, Bass was signed as backup for Patterson but an injury to either would leave Sunderland exposed. Sunderland may try to sign a third goalkeeper as a free agent outside the window, but it is still an area that needs to be addressed.
Not only that, but Sunderland are again taking a huge risk by failing to sign another striker as backup for Stewart and on-loan Everton man Simms. Last season, while Broadhead was out injured for a lengthy period, Sunderland brought 39-year-old ex-England man Jermain Defoe back to the club at the end of the January window.
It was a dreadful decision, and after failing to force his way into the team he hung up his boots before the end of March - leaving Sunderland's promotion chances reliant on Stewart staying fit which, thankfully, he did. But with no third centre-forward brought in before the window shuts, Sunderland are one injury away from finding themselves in exactly the same situation - completely dependent on the fitness of what would be their one remaining striker.
Defensively, with Ballard expected to be sidelined for potentially a couple of months with a fractured foot, versatile midfielder Luke O'Nien has done a sterling job on the right side of a back three but Sunderland are short of specialist centre-backs which explains why the club had tried to sign Brighton's Jan Paul van Hecke on loan last month before the Seagulls decided to keep hold of him.
The second 'concern', over the new youngsters that have arrived, is perhaps better described as a leap of faith. There are no guarantees when you sign young players from Europe, such as the midfielders Michut and Ba, or Central America, such as the winger Bennette, that they will hit the ground running.
They may need a period of adjustment. Mowbray said as much in his post-Rotherham press conference, adding: "They are going to get the fans off their seats.
"But football isn't just about dribbling, it's about personality, character and drive and emotion. Players who come to the game here have to grasp that this is English football where, in the North East, it's brilliant when they do amazing run and dribbles but the fans expect them to win headers and tackles.
"My job is to try and bring that out of them."
It is a challenge that Mowbray has identified immediately, and how successful he is at integrating this new crop of youngsters could be crucial between now and the opening of the January window.
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