Kristjaan Speakman issues Sunderland AFC transfer update and what fans can expect next

Kristjaan Speakman says that Sunderland will continue to be active through the rest of the transfer window, but admits that there might now be a natural pause after confirmation of the first three summer additions.

The Black Cats have been planning for this summer window for a number of months and have moved quickly to secure the additions of Nectarios Triantis, Jobe Bellingham and Hemir.

All three will join their new team-mates when pre-season training begins on Monday, with fixtures against Gateshead and South Shields on July 8th preceding a trip to the US.

Speakman spoke to supporters at the Foundation of Light's annual Fixture Release Breakfast on Thursday morning, where it was confirmed that the Black Cats would begin their campaign at home to Ipswich Town on Sunday, August 6th.

The Sporting Director said that the club was still looking to add depth in some key positions, but that some decisions will likely be made after the players have begun their pre-season programme.

Answering a question at the Beacon of Light on what positions Sunderland were looking to recruit in, and whether they would sign another striker, Speakman said: "There’s some obvious areas for us to try and get some quality or depth.

"There are so many moving parts to it that I wouldn’t want to say [exactly] what we’re looking for and I certainly want to set alarm bells ringing for any of our current players or anything like that.

"We’ve got a plan and hopefully people can see that we’ve really tried to be pro-active, we’ve been working on this window for a long time and we’ve been able to secure three difficult transfers to do as early as possible.

"What you’ll probably see now is strategically, I wouldn’t say a pause because you always have to be constantly responding to what’s happening in the market, but we’ll get the players in, they’ll be able to showcase where we are and then we can start to make more decisions as we move through pre-season. We’re always striving to improve.

"It’s not always about signing a player, sometimes you can be better off waiting for a Trai Hume to settle, get his feet under the table and then you see what they can do.

"But we will absolutely keep trying to evolve the team, to make sure we’ve got the players that you all want to come down and watch."

The first game of the campaign against Ipswich Town will be televised live on Sky Sports, with a 5pm kick-off time.

Sunderland then travel to Preston North End the following Saturday, before facing Rotherham United at home and Coventry City away to conclude the opening month of their Championship campaign.

The Black Cats will also discover their first round Carabao Cup opponents later this afternoon, with that tie set to take place in the midweek between the opening and second game of the league campaign.

Tony Mowbray's side will also finish their campaign on home turf, facing currently managerless Sheffield Wednesday following their recent promotion from League One.