Sunderland could sign “rough-and-tumble” Ballard partner in January

The Michael Beale era is well underway at the Stadium of Light. After a devastating 3-0 loss at home to Coventry City in his managerial debut on Wearside, Sunderland have now picked up seven points from the last nine available and are just two points off West Bromwich Albion in fifth place in the Championship.

Goalscoring has been an issue for the Black Cats this season. Nazariy Rusyn’s goal against Preston North End on Monday was the first from any of Sunderland’s five centre-forwards this season.

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However, Beale is reportedly eyeing up a move to bolster his defensive department instead of looking to add quality to the forward line.

Sunderland transfer news – Charlie Cresswell

According to the Sunday Mirror, via the Yorkshire Evening Post, Sunderland are eyeing up a move for Leeds United centre-half Charlie Cresswell before the deadline slams shut at the beginning of next month. The outlet are also claiming that Cresswell is open to leaving Elland Road over the coming weeks but a loan deal is more likely to happen than a permanent one.

Having been handed his first-team debut by the legendary Marcelo Bielsa, there were high hopes for the young centre-back in Yorkshire. Journalist Joe Donnohue even described the Leeds academy product as a “rough-and-tumble” defender after his breakout campaign two seasons ago.

Nevertheless, following an impressive loan spell at Millwall last season, the 21-year-old has struggled for minutes under Daniel Farke, having played merely 309 minutes for the Peacocks this term, spread across six appearances in all competitions.

It was reported last January that Leeds were open to selling Cresswell and were willing to accept a £4m fee for his signature, but the club opted to hold onto him in the end. Now, Cresswell looks keen to continue his development, even if only temporarily, and Sunderland could be the perfect club for him.

Charlie Cresswell’s stats last season

Sunderland have had three different coaches sitting in the dugout this season: Tony Mowbray, Mike Dodds and Michael Beale. Across the entire season, Sunderland’s centre-half partnership of Daniel Ballard and Luke O’Nien has remained quite consistent.

Ballard has made 25 Championship appearances this term already for the Black Cats out of a possible 26, while O’Nien has played exactly the same number of games. In total, the duo have been on the pitch for a combined 4,486 minutes throughout the campaign.

This has worked quite well so far for Sunderland. This season, the Wearside club boast the joint-fourth best defensive record in England’s second division, having conceded 28 goals in 26 matches. Only Leicester City, West Brom and Sunderland boast fewer goals conceded.

However, O’Nien has played 143 times in midfield during his career compared to 81 as a centre-back. Across these 143 games, he has scored 20 goals and registered 10 assists in total, as per Transfermarkt. Perhaps Cresswell’s potential arrival offers Beale the ability to push O’Nien into the middle of the park, a position where he has thrived in the past.

From his spell at Millwall last season, Cresswell’s statistics show that he was even outperforming O’Nien’s numbers from this term and so there is a case to be made that the former would be an even better defensive partner for Ballard.

Furthermore, Cresswell’s addition would even allow Beale to have three excellent centre-backs, offering the coach flexibility to change to a back three at times.

While signing a centre-forward is of paramount importance this month, Beale should not turn his nose up at taking Cresswell on loan for the remainder of the season.