Tony Mowbray makes frank admission on Sunderland departures | OneFootball

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Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray has admitted that it was tough to let Danny Batth and Lynden Gooch leave, speaking to the Northern Echo.

However, Mowbray also revealed that he was happy to let players like them go if the right calibre of players came in, with the Black Cats finding themselves very busy in the transfer market during the summer window.

There was a clear emphasis on bringing young players through the door - and Nectarios Triantis, Jobe Bellingham, Luis Hemir, Jenson Seelt, Bradley Dack, Eliezer Mayenda, Nathan Bishop, Nazariy Rusyn, Timothee Pembele and Adil Aouchiche all arrived permanently - with Mason Burstow the only player to come in on loan.

Dack was the only player over the age of 25 to come in - but they saw a few experienced men depart.

Along with Batth and Gooch, Ross Stewart, Carl Winchester and Bailey Wright all left, leaving Dack, Alex Pritchard and Corry Evans as the three main experienced players in the dressing room.

Some would argue that their squad is slightly too inexperienced at this point, though others would say they have a very talented squad that's capable of pushing at the right end of the division.

Both viewpoints are probably right - and it will be interesting to see whether the loss of some of their experienced men comes back to bite them or not.

Following Stewart's departure, it's hard to say whether they have strengthened their squad that much because the Scottish forward was such an asset for them and some of their signings remain unproven.

However, they now have a decent amount of depth in plenty of areas and that will only serve them well in their likely quest to force their way into the promotion mix again this term.

Currently sitting in ninth place and following their 5-0 hammering of Southampton, they are currently in a good place to go on and push for another top-six finish.

What did Tony Mowbray say about Sunderland's departures?

Considering Gooch has been at the club so long and the experience Batth has, both of their departures could be sorely felt by Mowbray who will be relying on experienced players to maintain standards and discipline in the dressing room.

However, Mowbray is reasonably relaxed about letting them go, with players coming in as well as going out.

He said: "Sometimes you have to make some really tough decisions. Danny Batth and Lynden Gooch are really tough decisions but if the quality comes in, I've always said, the king is dead, long live the king.

"Mo Salah at the minute is who the world seems to be talking about. Once he goes for his £200m, someone else will fill the void and bang in 20-odd goals for Liverpool.

"They will, because they're a great team who create chances so someone will eat them up and bang them in the back of the net. You move on, as they've had to do with Suarez and Ian Rush and Michael Owen and Robbie Fowler."

Have Sunderland made the right decision to sell Danny Batth and Lynden Gooch?

Considering a couple of central defenders have arrived, the sale of Batth isn't a big issue for the Black Cats in terms of depth.

However, the 32-year-old performed exceptionally well last season and they could miss having his experience at the back at this level.

Gooch will also be a miss considering his versatility and the fact he knows what it means to wear the red and white stripes.

Both could have been real leaders in the dressing room this term, with high expectations on this group.