Sunderland are looking absolutely sluggish, timorous and ineffective in the Championship this season as they have thoroughly failed to be a productive side. The Black Cats are placed rock-bottom in the league table with 22 points to their name after 26 games.
Their chances of their survival in the English second division beyond this season seem to be heavily jeopardized. The club is certainly in need of some sort of resurrection to make their presence felt and to enhance their chances of being outside the relegation zone at the end of the season.
As per one of the latest reports by The Chronicle Live, Sunderland are keen to sign Brentford’s midfielder, Ryan Woods, in the ongoing transfer window to strengthen their arsenal. He has been on their radar for quite some time now.
They were interested to sign Woods in the summer as well but the deal failed to materialize. Given their current scenario, it goes without saying that they would leave no stone unturned to lure him to the Stadium of Light this time around.
The 24-year-old is a defensive midfielder, who has been playing a crucial role for the Bees this season. He has been handed 23 appearances in the Championship and he has scored 1 goal and has registered 2 assists, apart from making 1 tackle, 1.2 interceptions, 1.4 clearances and 0.2 blocks per game on an average.
Woods is a decent passer of the ball and knits the side meticulously in the middle. He not only shields the backline well but also pushes them to gallop forward and attempts to dictate the tempo of the game from the middle. Besides, he reads the game well and doesn’t get flustered in tight situations.
The player won’t take too much time to get going if he indeed makes the move, having played for Shrewsbury Town, before making a move to Brentford. Woods works well with his teammates and shows a lot of zeal to impress every time he steps onto the field. He really has the potential to add some steel into the midfield of Chris Coleman’s side and he will surely elevate their current midfield quality.
Apart from Sunderland, Derby County are also keen to prise him out of the Griffin Park, which means that there would certainly be an element of competition involved. Coleman knows that the budget he has is very limited and he must be using it judiciously and thus, it would be intriguing to see where this piece of transfer news goes from here onwards.
Statistics Credits: WhoScored
