Sunderland have discussed bringing in a free agent to help them cope with injuries to Ross Stewart and Ellis Simms - but Tony Mowbray says there are no plans to add to squad at present. The Black Cats are currently without a number nine to spearhead their attack, with top scorer Stewart expected to be sidelined for at least another month with a thigh injury while on-loan Everton man Simms is out of action with a toe problem which is taking longer than expected to heal.
With no direct replacements available, Mowbray has had to change approach and employ Alex Pritchard as a false nine, supported by Patrick Roberts and Elliot Embleton, and that has worked to good effect in the last two games, with Sunderland winning 3-0 at Reading and securing a 2-2 draw at Watford. And it seems that Mowbray and sporting director Kristjaan Speakman are content to continue with that gameplan for now, rather than look for an out-of-contract forward who could join outside the transfer window.
"We've sat and explored it," said Mowbray of the prospect of signing a free agent. "We've had meetings and discussions.
READ MORE: Sunderland's Ellis Simms not ready to return as Tony Mowbray gives injury update
"It's not about just bringing a player in and trying to find a centre-forward. I think the team has shown that we don't really need a centre-forward, what we need is bodies really.
"If the right bodies are not there, you don't bring them in just for the sake of it because the dynamic of the group is the most important thing. Collectively - Kristjaan, myself, and the staff - believe we should push on with what we've got."
Sunderland did add some extra attacking players towards the end of the transfer window, such as widemen Jewison Bennette and on-loan Manchester United forward Amad Diallo, and Mowbray expects them to come to the fore while Stewart and Simms are absent. He said: "We've got attacking players. I think Amad Diallo is someone who is going to burst onto the scene at some stage and everybody is going to say 'wow, how come he wasn't starting?' because he is a centre-forward as such, just a different type of centre-forward to Ross and Ellis.
"He likes to come to the ball, to get turned, dribble with it, run with it, and slip other people in, as opposed to being at the top end, the sharp end, of it. He's a good option, and we've also been playing the Pritchards and the Embletons and people who can play at the top end of the pitch and get into the box and score goals.
"We have to find ways of playing and we'll do that."
READ NEXT:
- Sunderland linked with former Rangers boss Graeme Murty for academy role
- Sunderland's Aji Alese must believe he can be a first team regular, insists Tony Mowbray
- Tony Mowbray's Sunderland plans for Jewison Bennette after 'massive impact'
- Tony Mowbray's plans to nurture Sunderland's young talent while managing expectations
- PSG loanee Edouard Michut can replicate Yann M'Vila's Sunderland rise
