Sunderland now have two home games on the bounce to try and restore the confidence that saw the Black Cats hammer West Ham United 3-0 on the Premier League opening day.

While it likely isn’t a priority competition this season, winning in the EFL Cup against Huddersfield Town later today would come as a welcome treat after losing 2-0 away at Burnley, before a home clash with Jordan Henderson’s Brentford then awaits back in the hustle and bustle of league action.

After the Bees come to Wearside, the next main event on the agenda will be transfer deadline day, with Sunderland not yet done with all their busy activity heading into the chaotic affair.

Sunderland ready to bid for £30m defender

A mammoth £141.5m has already been splashed by Regis Le Bris and Co. this summer.

However, the Black Cats are not completely finished forking out excessive wads of money if new rumours are to be believed, with £30m potentially being spent to try and land RC Strasbourg star Dilane Bakwa, who was previously on Leeds United’s radar.

Moreover, a similar amount of cash could also leave the Sunderland bank account shortly in attempting to land Chelsea reserve defender Axel Disasi.

Indeed, journalist Fabrice Hawkins has taken to X to confirm that the Premier League newcomers are ready to place a bid for the 27-year-old’s services to shore up their options in the centre-back department, with AFC Bournemouth also in the race for the Frenchman.

He could well cost another £30m to get over the line, according to reports, but with Sunderland now waiting on the extent of Daniel Ballard’s injury, after he hobbled off versus the Clarets, snapping up Disasi might well gift Le Bris a dream alternative to the injury-prone centre-back.

How Disasi compares to Ballard

It’s hardly a new development for Sunderland fans regarding Ballard going down with a knock.

Therefore, the alarm bells must have been ringing when the Northern Ireland international had to come off the pitch at Turf Moor after just 10 minutes, considering he has missed 67 clashes in total – since joining Sunderland back in 2022 – due to regular visits to the Stadium of Light treatment room.

This is where the addition of the “dominant” Disasi could come in handy, as he’s been labelled previously by scout Jacek Kulig, with the lofty 6-foot-3 defender showing off an ability to fire home chances – much like Ballard with his seven Black Cats goals and counting – when being in the right place at the right time to slot home this effort on his Blues debut two years ago.

He is also similar to the much-loved Sunderland servant in many other aspects of his varied game, as evident in his promising 2023/24 season in West London.

Games played

31

Goals scored

2

Assists

0

Touches*

82.1

Accurate passes*

64.3 (91%)

Ball recoveries*

4.8

Clearances*

3.1

Total duels won*

4.3

Clean sheets

5

Before somewhat sliding down the pecking order at Chelsea under Enzo Maresca, Disasi was a regular in the heart of the Stamford Bridge defence, and for good reason, with a composed 64.3 accurate passes averaged in league action during his first season in the first-team fold. Ballard averaged an 88% pass accuracy himself last campaign in the Championship, when he wasn’t stricken by injury.

Moreover, the table shows why Disasi was referred to as a “monster” by journalist Rahman Osman during his Blues peak, with a high 4.3 duels won on average across his 31 league starts.

Ballard did just better this tally last season in the demanding second tier – with 4.6 won on average – but Le Bris will know he can depend on the 27-year-old to come in and fill in for the ex-Arsenal defender if needed.

After all, while he didn’t set the world alight out on loan at Aston Villa last campaign, he did at least prove himself to be a useful utility option for Unai Emery, with 100% of his duels being won against Nottingham Forest during his penultimate Premier League outing at Villa Park.

Ideally, Sunderland will want Ballard to be fit and starting week in, week out, having already been a star in the top-flight when scoring versus West Ham.

But, if Disasi is available at the last minute, he might well be a smart buy to pursue to lessen the Black Cats’ ongoing worries about their fragile number five.