'Trim some of the fat, bring in more quality'

While Sunderland's unbelievable start to the season has afforded us an element of luxury when it comes to the upcoming transfer window, the impact of losing players to the Africa Cup of Nations means we probably do need to recruit some players early.

There have been links to Lazio's Matteo Guendouzi, and I can totally see that happening given his previous relationships with Regis Le Bris and Granit Xhaka.

Other than that, we could do with bringing in more creativity in forward areas.

I can see us signing another goalscoring wide-player, and potentially another striker, but a lot may depend on who we allow to leave.

Many of the players who formed part of Sunderland's promotion-winning side last season have struggled for minutes, and I think towards the end of the window we'll probably say goodbye to Dan Neil, Anthony Patterson, Leo Hjelde and Dennis Cirkin.

In Neil and Cirkin's case, they're out of contract in the summer and the club will want to recoup something for them while they still hold value.

Then there's the deadwood - Abdoullah Ba, Timothee Pembele, Joe Anderson, and Ian Poveda all need to find new clubs and that will be a core objective during the window, as it doesn't help anyone to still have them kicking about the place.

Really, Sunderland just need to tighten things up.

Trim some of the fat, bring in more quality where it's needed, and importantly, match the ambition of the head coach and the side by backing us with proper funds to sign players capable of helping us finish in a European place come the end of the season.

Find more from Gavin Henderson at Roker Report