Sunderland urged to complete West Ham transfer along with "priority" deal | OneFootball

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 are interested in West Ham United starlet Divin Mubama, who looks set to depart the London Stadium thos summer.

The Wearside outfit are reportedly the only team currently in talks with the 19-year-old, but if the likes of West Bromwich Albion, Everton and Sheffield Wednesday reignite interest from January, there could be competition.

The Black Cats are set to be entering the summer transfer window with no manager at the helm if they don't move quickly, but that isn't stopping the club's hierarchy from beginning talks with potential signings.

Sunderland backed to sign Divin Mubama alongside more experienced striker

However, there is a feeling that Sunderland may need a bit more experience in the side if they are to avoid a repeat of the disappointing season they have just suffered in 2023/24, and FLW's Sunderland fan pundit Jack Austwicke shares that opinion.

"We definitely need a more proven striker than [Divin] Mubama, but I'd still welcome it,"Jack told FLW.

"He actually seems like he's got a little bit of first-team experience, he's been in and around the West Ham squad for a while and he's scored a goal for them in the Conference League.

"He still looks like he could be a decent player, but the priority has got to be someone more experienced and proven in this division, and I know they are hard to come by, but it just has to be the priority.

"I don't mind this model, but you've got to be a bit flexible with it and I don't think we are."

Divin Mubama could be a risky signing for Sunderland

The Black Cats are certainly going to be playing with fire next season if Mubama is signed as one of their strikers.

As stated by Jack, the Newham-born attacker has not scored a first-team goal for West Ham yet in the Premier League, despite being in and around their first-team sporadically since late 2022.

He would therefore be a huge risk to take for a Sunderland side that - apart from the potentially departing Jack Clarke - were bereft of goals this season.

Clarke has been the main goal threat for the Black Cats in the last 12 months, and his departure looks imminent with the likes of Southampton, Brentford and, coincidently, West Ham reportedly sniffing about for the English winger, there is going to be questions asked about where the goals will come from next season.

It is more than likely that Mubama will not be the only striker signed throughout the summer, but the Sunderland hierarchy have a transfer policy where they will mainly look to sign younger, more unproven players, in hopes they can be developed and sold on for a major profit.

This will mean that if the potential signing of Mubama is to be added to, all it will likely be is another youngster who has only been given a sparing amount of minutes and has not scored too many goals so far in their career, and if Sunderland want to avoid another awful season, then they need to look at bringing in one or two experienced heads up top.

The Black Cats are certainly going to be the side to watch over the next few weeks, as with constant changes and U-turns being made in their search for a new manager, plus the risky signings of youngsters, they will have all eyes looking at them ahead of what could be a very turbulent season in 2024/25.