Alan Nixon has dropped a transfer update that could worry Sunderland fans… 

What’s the talk?

According to The Sun’s Alan Nixon, Sunderland target Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel is “not available” this month unless a bigger offer comes in for him.

In response to a question from a fan asking if the Black Cats are still in for the Nottingham Forest full-back, Nixon provided the worrying update on their pursuit of him.

Fans will be frustrated

Sunderland fans will be frustrated by this update from Nixon, as it appears to suggest that the Forest man will not be arriving at the Stadium of Light any time soon. It remains to be seen whether or not Kristjaan Speakman is willing to up the club’s offer for him, which means that ‘not available’ could well be his status for the rest of the transfer window.

They will be particularly gutted because Lee Johnson currently has zero natural right-back options on the books as it stands. Luke O’Nien and Carl Winchester have been deployed on the right side of the defence, but are both central midfielders by trade.

Gabriel, meanwhile, is a born and raised right-back. He has already played twice on the right-side of the defence for Chris Hughton’s side in the Championship this season and caught the eye on loan at Blackpool in the third tier in the 2020/21 campaign.

Former Liverpool coach Neil Critchley lauded the full-back last season whilst managing him in Lancashire, with the defender helping them achieve promotion to the Championship. He said:

“Jordan is a talented modern-day full-back, and is someone I have been aware of from his early years at Arsenal and Nottingham Forest.

“He will bring athleticism to the right-hand side of the team, and he is very good defensively in one v one situations. He’s very highly thought of at Nottingham Forest and we’re thankful to them for allowing us to sign Jordan for the season.”

He averaged a solid SofaScore rating of 6.75 in League One for the Tangerines. The 22-year-old made 1.7 tackles and interceptions per game and made zero errors leading to goals or shots overall. This shows that he was able to provide steady performances in the third tier, which could mean that he would be able to do the same for Sunderland.

This, along with their struggles with the right-back position, is why fans will not be pleased with this update from Nixon. They will surely be hoping that the issue is resolved before the end of the month, whether that is by signing Gabriel or bringing in another player to fill that role.

AND in other news, Forget Stewart: £3.6k-p/w SAFC beast who won 87% of duels stole the show vs MK Dons…