Sunderland AFC must send scouts to watch Kwame Poku and Ipswich Town man, here's why | OneFootball

The January window could be pivotal in deciding which teams go up.

After a recent slump in form, the pressure to execute in the January window is starting to creep up for Sunderland.

The Black Cats have become draw specialists. They only netted three times in five straight draws, and yet, because of their flying start to the campaign, they are still well within touching distance of the position they once held at the top of the league.

But now that the hype around Regis Le Bris has been stunted a bit, it's time for him, his backroom staff and the players to start finding some answers to the questions that are being posed to them.

Injuries and suspensions have played a part, but there is still plenty of quality in this Sunderland side to be able to do better than they have been of late.

Sometimes the players and staff need something fresh to get their teeth into; something that they haven't seen or worked with before. The January window offers a great opportunity to be able to do exactly that. With that in mind, there are a couple of players that Sunderland should have a look at in the build-up to the new year.

Kwame Poku

Suggestions that the Black Cats should target the Peterborough United right-winger may make some supporters feel like they're experiencing a bit of déjà vu. They wouldn't be wrong. Kwame Poku was linked to Sunderland in the last January window, when Michael Beale was in charge.

It was TEAMtalk who reported that Sunderland, and eventual promotion-winners Ipswich Town, were interested in the 23-year-old League One prospect. He was one of the leading direct goal contributors (goals and assists) when the report came out last November - now he is the division's leading scorer, with 10 goals in 16 games.

After Patrick Roberts, Le Bris doesn't have many naturally-suited right-wing options to call upon. Poku is out of contract in the summer, so the Posh are expected to want to sell their star player, whose goalscoring record could help to revitalise the Wearsiders going forward.

Harry Clarke

The potential need for someone in Roberts' position was exposed when he was suspended for the Millwall game last Saturday. The same could be said for Trai Hume, who also had to serve a one-game ban due to him accumulating five yellow cards before the midway point of the season.

Like with Roberts, the options at right-back after the Northern Irish international are thin-to-none. This wouldn't be the case if Niall Huggins was fit and available, but he is still out of action because of a knee injury that he suffered last December; he's scheduled to be out until early 2025.

Sunderland can't really rely on his fitness, certainly nowhere near as much as they can with Hume, so having another strong option, like Ipswich's Harry Clarke, would be of great help to Le Bris.

The 24-year-old is a proven, Championship-quality right-back, and he can also operate on the opposite flank if needs be.

They cut a pretty nice deal with Kieran McKenna's side when another Clarke (Jack) went from the Stadium of Light to Portman Road for an up-front fee of £15 million this summer. Town may return the favour by allowing their other Clarke, who's currently out of the rotation, to go get minutes somewhere else and try to help another team win promotion to the Premier League.