Sunderland transfers: Jack Ross must sell before he can make signings

The Black Cats boss is happy with the size of his squad, but says he is ‘always looking to improve the quality’.

As well as the departures of Adam Matthews and Robbin Ruiter at the end of their contracts, Reece James has moved to Doncaster Rovers and Lee Cattermole left the club.

The Black Cats boss is working with a bigger squad than this time last year, has already added Conor McLaughlin and Lee Burge to replace Matthews and Ruiter, and has been told that any futher additions must be supplemented by a departure.

“In terms of where we are squad wise, with numbers we’re a lot healthier than we were this time last season,” he said. “We have enough numbers in the group to satisfy a lot of positions.

“However, as always, we’re always looking to improve the quality. It’s not easy because we’ve got good players at the club already, but we’ve worked hard to identify those that have the quality and fit within the structure of the club now.

“The reality at the moment is that we’re in a position where in order to bring ones in, we need to move ones on.

“That’s not always easy to do, so I’m satisfied with what we’ve got at the moment, but looking to improve if the right player not just becomes available but fits the structure of the club.”