Welcome Jack Baldwin – with more to come?

Malcolm Dawson writes…….The Ross rebuild continues apace with the announcement today of another player highly regarded amongst the cognoscenti of League 1 as centre back Jack Baldwin put pen to paper. You can read the official club announcement by following this link and hear what the player himself had to say here.

As we do with all our new signings we’d like to offer our customary Salut! Sunderland welcome but if it should appear a little tardy, it’s only because we are hanging on with rumours of more to come.

There are bound to be those who see the nine new players as lesser quality signings than we have been used to in the past but the reality is we need players who know this league and players who can do a job at this level. Nine signings so far is a statement of intent to my mind and I’m more than happy with the business we’ve done so far. Some well publicised targets have gone elsewhere and some seem to be taking an age to sort out but what we must bear in mind is that signing new players is not as straightforward as doing a shop at the local supermarket.

It’s no secret we are still short of proven goalscorers and experienced centre forwards and whilst losing Asoro was disappointing, he is still a raw talent, lacking in experience so even had he not chosen to try and further his career in South Wales I’m sure the manager, Tony Coton, Stewart Donald and the rest of the staff involved in player recruitment would be exploring all avenues. Latest rumours have it that Bradford City striker Charlie Wyke is on the verge of signing. If those rumours are correct then that could well be another piece of the jigsaw in place. Although his name has been linked with us for ages his is a position that clubs find difficult to fill and selling clubs will be looking to have replacements lined up before agreeing to their release.

Midfielder Luke O’Nien is also reportedly about to sign with his current club Wycombe Wanderers happy to announce his imminent departure and wish him good luck. Fingers crossed and with encouraging performances from all the U23s who have been involved preseason it looks as if we should be in a decent place come the start of the season.

Of course there are still players we could do with getting shot of. Kone will be picking up his wages still and if the two truants are still looking to find new clubs at the end of the transfer window it could be interesting. Oviedo has made no secret of his desire to play at a higher level but I am assuming that his inclusion on the bench at the Riverside means he has assured the manager that as long as the club is paying his wages he is prepared to do the decent thing and give 100% for the cause. It would be nice to think so. The fact that Cattermole and Honeyman have played in most of the friendlies would seem to suggest that they are also buying into the Ross revolution whilst they are still at the club.

Personally I’m looking forward to the Charlton game. Preseason indications are that the manager will set up to play high energy attacking football as promised and that those players involved in the first team squad are bonding with each other and enjoying his approach. Let’s hope so – it’s about time we had something to shout about at the Stadium of Light.

Ha’way the Lads