"Would be a shrewd addition" - Sunderland could look to hijack Birmingham City deal: The verdict | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World's 'The Verdict' series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Sunderland will be looking to launch another push for a top-six finish when the 2023/24 Championship campaign gets underway in August.

Ahead of this upcoming campaign, teams across the Football League are expected to engage in a plethora of transfer activity.

Despite the fact that the summer window has yet to open, Sunderland have already been linked with a number of players.

One of the individuals who is believed to be on the club's radar is Dion Sanderson.

A report from The Telegraph yesterday suggested that Sunderland were interested in signing Wolverhampton Wanderers defender Sanderson.

The Black Cats are expected to face competition for Sanderson from Stoke City and Birmingham City.

A Patreon report from journalist Alan Nixon suggested that the Blues has submitted a bid believed to be in the region of £2m, which is Wolves' valuation.

With Sunderland said to be interested in sealing a reunion with Sanderson, who featured for the club during the 2020/21 season, three of our FLW writers have decided to offer their thoughts on whether the defender would be a good addition to the club's squad.

Would Dion Sanderson be a good signing for Sunderland?

Ned Holmes

This could be a smart move from a Sunderland perspective and one that fits in with the transfer strategy we've seen in recent windows.

We saw at the business end of last season that the Black Cats are lacking in a bit of depth at centre-back so Dion Sanderson could come in as cover and competition to the current first choice duo of Danny Batth and Dan Ballard.

Batth is not getting any younger but a Sanderson and Ballard centre-back duo could form part of Sunderland's spine for some time.

Comfortable in possession and strong defensively, the Wolves defender impressed on loan at the Stadium of Light previously and with Birmingham City last year.

For the right price, this could be a great bit of business.

Declan Harte

Sanderson has improved a lot since his first stint with the Black Cats and is now a very capable Championship-level defender.

Sunderland need reinforcements for next season given how badly injuries impacted their promotion bid.

Sanderson would be a smart signing to beef up their defensive options.

The Black Cats do have strong options in defence, but the Wolves man should still earn plenty of game time given his quality, age and injury record of some of the team’s current options.

Josh Cole

This would be a shrewd addition by Sunderland if they are able to win the race for Sanderson's signature.

During his recent loan spell with Birmingham, Sanderson managed to make 1.6 tackles, 1.2 interceptions, and 2.6 clearances per game in the Championship as he recorded a respectable WhoScored match rating of 6.63.

By learning from the guidance of Tony Mowbray, who has furthered the development of Anthony Patterson and Jack Clarke during his time in charge of Sunderland, the centre-back could go on to establish himself as a key member of the club's squad.