​SUNDERLAND, ENGLAND- AUGUST 17: New Sunderland signing Dayann Methalie is shown around the Academy of Light by Director of Football Florent Ghisolfi on August 17, 2026 in Sunderland, England. (Photo by Ian Horrocks/Sunderland AFC via Getty Images) | Sunderland AFC via Getty Images Mark Ryan says…I’m quite confident as we close in on the end of the window. Florent Ghisolfi and Kyril Louis-Dreyfus have something up their sleeve — I can sense it.The changes to the squad were always going to be at the edges, not the core, and the priority was always improving the quality of depth.Adding Dayann Méthalie goes a long way towards that and he improves the overall flexibility of the squad more than many realise. Jules Ahoka might be “one for the future”, but that was the word on Chemsdine Talbi a year ago, and he transitioned faster than anyone expected.I’ve gone back and forth all summer about whether or not a right winger is absolutely necessary, but Saturday has me on the Geny Catamo train.I say “pay the release clause to get him in”, but I understand that might not be reasonable from an SCR perspective. If it’s not, get a reasonably high-level alternative at the price we’re willing to pay, but get it done. I’m also starting to get on the left centre back bandwagon, but I still think Methalie makes Reinildo a decent alternative there if necessary. Alan Browne is even more surplus with Ahoka in the fold, and there’s got to be a way to move Abdoullah Ba out.I actually like Ba more than most, but it’s gone on far too long. Same with Hemir. I’d love Aji Alese to stick around, stay healthy and prove he’s a Premier League player, but I want him to get a chance to play, so I wouldn’t mind if he was moved on as well.I have a feeling Catamo or a right winger to be named later gets sorted out of the blue on Wednesday or Thursday. Deadline day will be bigger than expected — we sign a hybrid attacking player, a loan defender, an English goalkeeper (and loan out Melker Ellborg) and someone no one saw coming.Matthew Donne says…In Florent Ghisolfi I trust.We don’t work in the ‘usual’ ways compared to other sides and we’ve shown time and time again that the patient build up with transfers and not jumping into deals two-footed or hastily has worked wonders.Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and Ghisolfi have definitely earned the right to handle incomings however they see fit, and the fanbase just needs to have some patience and trust the process.Max Steel says…My confidence levels are very much slap bang in the middle.They’re working on the gaping hole at right wing but the continuous conflicting reports in our pursuit of Geny Catamo are hard to decipher, so I think there may be some work to do still on that deal. Ideally you’d like a deal for a right winger to go through this week to give the fanbase and squad a good boost in the hope of a positive week, ending with a good result at the weekend.I still think there’s a need for an