"No offence" - Sunderland issued transfer warning over 12-goal winger amid Birmingham City & Sheffield United battle | OneFootball

FLW's Sunderland fan pundit has given his verdict on their pursuit of Kwame Poku from Peterborough United

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 one of many clubs showing an interest in signing Kwame Poku from Peterborough United this summer.

According to GiveMeSport, the Black Cats have registered their interest in the player, but face competition from the likes of Birmingham City and Sheffield United, among others.

The forward has attracted a lot of attention ahead of the opening of the transfer window, with his contract set to expire at the end of June.

The 23-year-old contributed 12 goals and eight assists from 27 appearances in League One last season, with Posh finishing 18th in the table - perhaps because of his long absence through injury as his impact at times was greatly missed.

Sunderland offered Kwame Poku transfer warning amid Premier League promotion

When asked whether Poku would be a good signing, FLW’s Sunderland fan pundit Jack Austwicke claimed he could be a solid option to have in the squad.

However, he’s warned the club that they must be more ambitious in the transfer market this summer in order to have any chance of survival in the Premier League.

“I think Poku would be a good signing, but he can’t be a starter, we’ve got to be more ambitious,” Austwicke told Football League World.

“Good player, he’s the sort of signing you’d expect us to make when we’re in the Championship to push for promotion.

“But, look, you’ve seen the gap is huge.

“The last six teams to go up went straight back down, and a lot of them did it by shopping in the Championship and buying — not rubbish, but not good enough for the Premier League at all.

“So, that’s the blueprint, that’s what we don’t do, so why would we sign a player from League One?

“Granted, he’s a good player, a talented player, I’m sure he’ll go on to have a great career, but we can do better and we need to do better.

“It’s not going to be easy next year because I also think the teams we’re coming up with are better than the previous teams.

“I think Leeds, they’ve got a lot of money as well, they’ve got great infrastructure, Burnley are very solid defensively and are not going to be easy to beat, or as easy as the other teams I don’t think.

“So, not only have we got to compete with the 17 teams who are just money machines in the Premier League, but we’ve also got to compete with the two we’ve come up with, who are actually quite good.

“So, we need to be aiming big on our signings and, no offence, but bigger than Kwame Poku.”

Kwane Poku signing won’t set Premier League on fire, but Sunderland pursuit is smart

Poku would be a great signing for Sunderland had they lost that play-off final against Sheffield United.

But the step up from League One to the Premier League is absolutely massive, and it’s hard to imagine him settling in and immediately hitting the ground running at the Stadium of Light.

While he would be a very affordable deal due to his contract, and he might prove a good squad option to add some depth to their attacking options, more ambition does need to be shown in the market if Sunderland are going to survive in the top flight.

That isn't to say though that Poku could still be a decent pickup for a relatively small compensation package, as Sunderland could develop him and sell him on potentially if he doesn't cut it at top flight level, making it smart business-wise, but it's hard to see him making an immediate impact if he jumps up two levels.