Sunderland were still chasing new signings up to 9pm on deadline day, according to new head coach Tony Mowbray. The Black Cats were keen to bring in reinforcements on Thursday ahead of the 11pm cut-off but, despite Mowbray insisting the club had 'some balls rolling until 8-9pm', ultimately they did not manage to get any deals over the line.
However Mowbray insists he is happy with the squad he has inherited, which was further strengthened on the eve of deadline day with three new additions in midfielders Edouard Michut and Abdoullah Ba, who joined on loan from Paris St Germain and on a permanent deal from Le Havre respectivelly, along with winger Amad Diallo who joined on a season-long loan from Manchester United. And he says he is ready to put his trust in a small but tight-knit group, and rely on their versatility to cover for a variety of different positions.
"We worked really hard, we had some balls rolling probably until about eight or nine o'clock that could have still fallen in for us, but they didn't," said Mowbray, whose reign began with a convincing midweek home win against Rotherham United. "So my opinion was let's trust these lads, let them build that camaraderie that they have.
READ MORE: Sunderland's squad remains thin after deadline day passes with no further additions
"As long as you have some flexible players which we do, they can fill in if you do get an injury. We want to keep a tight group - it's a really interesting discussion in football as to whether you do that.
"I prefer to make human connections with my players, I want to love them and for them to know I'm on their side. It becomes more difficult to do that when you have huge numbers.
"You have to look after anyone who is on the periphery, you've got to try and keep everyone going. There's a balance to be had because if you pick up a few injuries everyone says you should have added in the summer window, but you've got to trust them and hope you have the depth and quality."
Sunderland's sporting director Kristjaan Speakman also talked up the virtues of a 'streamlined' squad. He said: "What we don't want is loads of players around the group not playing or participating, and what we've always wanted to do since I've been here is have a streamlined group with real quality.
"I think that's what we've got."
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