With Sunderland currently sitting in sixth place in the League One table, Lee Johnson's side have conceded a total of 22 goals in 17 games, more than any other side above them in the table.

This could have something to do with the fact that the Black Cats currently have a number of injured defensive players such as Niall Huggins, Dennis Cirkin and Denver Hume out of action, leaving Johnson having to play the likes of Carl Winchester and Luke O'Nien in the full-back positions in recent matches.

With this in mind and the fact that the January transfer window is on the horizon, one player that the Wearside club should be looking to bring in to help ease their injury crisis is Eric Lichaj.

After being linked with a move for the full-back during the previous summer transfer window after leaving Turkish club Faith Karagumruk in January, it seems as though the club could be forced into securing the defender's signature in this upcoming window on a free transfer as a result of their current injury worries.

The 33-year-old, who is currently valued at £450k according to Transfermarkt, has a total of 345 senior club appearances under his belt throughout his career, with 257 of them coming in the Championship, showing how much experience he has that he could offer Sunderland if he joins in January.

Despite predominantly playing as a right-back, Lichaj, who was previously described as "phenomenal" by Nigel Adkins during his time at Hull City, has also played a decent number of games in the left-back position, highlighting his versatility that could be a big help for Sunderland if they still have defensive injuries in the full-back positions heading into the New Year.

On that evidence, signing Lichaj on a free transfer should be at the top of Kyril Louis-Dreyfus' priority list. With injuries aplenty, he could help the team push towards promotion by the end of the season.

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