"It definitely can't hurt" - Sunderland AFC: Kyril Louis-Dreyfus backed to make shrewd January call | OneFootball

The Black Cats have been predicted to make small adjustments to their squad in the new year

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Sunderland's owners have been forecasted to invest smartly into Regis Le Bris' squad in the upcoming January transfer window, so the Black Cats can keep their early-season promotion charge up throughout the duration of the campaign.

Sunderland have been the Championship's surprise package for 2024/25, and have set the pace at the top of the second-tier so far with impressive performances week-in, week-out under recently-appointed head-coach Le Bris.

The Frenchman has got off to an ideal start at the Stadium of Light, after he signed a three-year deal as boss in June, likely doing even better than he could have envisaged with such a young squad.

The likes of Jobe Bellingham, Chris Rigg, Romaine Mundle and Wilson Isidor have all starred in the Black Cats' superb form over the last few months, yet more additions have been touted to be made to Le Bris' playing squad in the new year for the team to be able to keep up their challenge on the automatic promotion places.

Sunderland fan pundit predicts shrewd January investment from owners

Kyril Louis-Dreyfus has been Sunderland's chairman since 2021, and majority owner since 2022, with the club experiencing a pretty rapid rise from perennial League One play-off failures to Premier League promotion chasers in the last three years.

The Swiss-French businessman has given numerous Black Cats bosses the chance to spend on new signings in recent seasons, and just this summer allowed Le Bris to pay relatively modest fees for the likes of Milan Aleksic and Ahmed Abdullahi.

While Sunderland clearly do not need to sign a load of quality players in the new year, FLW's Sunderland fan pundit, Jack Austwicke, has predicted Louis-Dreyfus to sanction some January additions to bolster Le Bris' ranks ahead of a long second-half of the campaign, when he was asked if he expects the owner to back the club in the new year with funds, or if he expects a modest window.

"I expect them to back us, because that’s what they should be doing when we have started so well. You shouldn’t become modest," Jack told FLW.

"I’ve got good faith in our squad and think we’re really good, but, if you want to go up, when we’ve started so well, you have to capitalise and add a little bit of strength to the squad if we need it.

"There could be injuries later in the season. You don’t want to be relying on the same players all season long.

"Add a little bit of extra quality. Nothing major, because the squad is really good, but it definitely can’t hurt to get a few extra players in."

Sunderland will be more focused on keeping their current players than signing new ones

While new additions will surely be made to the Black Cats' squad in the new year, their main focus will be to make sure that the likes of Bellingham, Rigg, Mundle and Dennis Cirkin all remain on Wearside past the January window.

There is bound to be transfer interest in 19-year-old Bellingham, as he has improved even further this season following a summer of rumours surrounding his potential departure to a top Premier League side.

TEAMtalk revealed in July that he turned down a move to the top flight in favour of staying with Sunderland, amid interest from Tottenham and Crystal Palace, while the likes of Manchester United and Real Madrid were keeping an eye on him from a distance.

His 17-year-old midfield partner Rigg has similarly been vital to the Black Cats' success so far this term, and previous reports have linked him to the likes of Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Liverpool, while HITC recently claimed that Manchester United’s hierarchy are looking closely at a deal that could be agreed in January, which would then see him make the move to Old Trafford next summer.

New reports from The Sun also suggest that Crystal Palace are plotting a £20m move in January, so it is clear that the Black Cats face a tough battle to keep hold of their key young stars.

Le Bris' squad definitely needs some fresh faces in the new year, but they need to be in addition to those existing talents in his starting eleven, not as replacements.