"Let's be real" - Sunderland AFC transfer plea issued following Tommy Watson setback | OneFootball

FLW's Sunderland fan pundit wants to see a replacement signed for Tommy Watson and Romaine Mundle, who are both out with long-term injuries

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 have been urged to take action on the long-term injuries to young wing duo Tommy Watson and Romaine Mundle by signing an extra left-winger in the January transfer window.

The Black Cats remain firmly in the Championship promotion race and underlined their credentials by recovering a two-goal deficit to claim an emphatic 3-2 victory away to Swansea City on Saturday afternoon, which has lifted them back up to third place and within two points of the automatic slots.

Sunderland have been mightily-impressive for the most part but the campaign hasn't been entirely unhitched, and Regis Le Bris has faced difficulty in recent times with something of an injury crisis plaguing what's already a rather thin squad.

Sunderland are without Romaine Mundle and now Tommy Watson through injury

They have endured some sore luck as of late, and the left-wing position is now a real dilemma until the January transfer window after a recent injury to young hotshot Watson.

The 18-year-old had established himself in the first-team and started five straight matches, a run which included a scintillating brace to inspire a 2-1 victory over Stoke City earlier this month, before being hauled off in the first-half of his side's match against Bristol City on Tuesday night.

Le Bris subsequently revealed that the winger sustained ankle and knee damage, which is set to keep him sidelined for the next two months. Watson's senior breakthrough was accelerated by an existing injury to Mundle, who was also ruled out of contention for two months after damaging his hamstrings.

The former Tottenham Hotspur youth prospect, who plays in the same position as Watson, picked up his injury last month and will be poised to return to action next month, though he'll likely require time to get back up to speed and recapture the levels which saw him emerge among the standout wide players in the Championship.

Mundle has four goals and two assists under his belt from only 15 appearances, and his absence has coincided with a generally tough recent run of form for the Black Cats.

With both Mundle and Watson out, Sunderland are awfully short of wide options and were forced to field 19-year-old striker Eliezer Mayenda there against Swansea.

Sunderland urged to sign Tommy Watson, Romaine Mundle competition in January transfer window

Following Watson's setback, we asked our Sunderland fan pundit, Jack Austwicke, to explain just how much of a blow it is for his side to be without the duo and if the club need to take action by increasing their options out wide in January.

Jack believes it's imperative for Sunderland to sign another winger, although he isn't yet sure about just who would be the best candidate for Le Bris and owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus to bring to the Stadium of Light.

"Yeah it was really frustrating when it happened, because we were obviously playing against Bristol City on the Tuesday night and he was having an amazing game," Jack told Football League World of Watson's injury.

"His touch was perfect, he beat his man a few times within the opening 10 minutes, he made a few long passes, he was having a really good game. He looked so mature after his brace against Stoke, and then that happens.

"It's just the luck of the game, isn't it. We struggled with Mayenda on the left, he's left-footed so he had a bit of an awkward angle at times. That was a real, real blow. God knows how long Mundle is out for now so we need to get a left-winger, let's be real.

"Maybe just on loan, we need someone to see us until the end of the season as we'll still have Mundle and Watson by the end of the season.