The previous summer transfer window was a rather busy one for Sunderland that saw the Wearside club bring a number of players in on free transfers such as Alex Pritchard and Corry Evans, as well as loan deals for players like Callum Doyle, Leon Dajaku and Nathan Broadhead among others.
However, it seems as though there could have been another new player at Sunderland this season that Black Cats manager Lee Johnson will now be wishing the club managed to secure.
According to Portsmouth boss Danny Cowley, Sunderland were interested in signing Millwall right-back Mahlon Romeo during the previous summer window before he eventually joined Pompey on a season-long loan deal.
Taking into account how Sunderland have a lot of their current defensive players out injured and the fact that Romeo has managed to play the full 90 minutes in all but one of the 15 League One games he's appeared in for Portsmouth so far this season as a right-back and right-midfielder, he could have been a really useful player for the Black Cats this season.
In those league appearances, Romeo has shown just what a capable defensive unit he has been for Portsmouth by racking up an average of 2.7 tackles per game, 1.5 clearances per game and 1.3 interceptions per game, whilst winning 62% of the duels he's been involved in.
Sunderland have managed to concede one more goal in the league than Portsmouth at this point in the season, despite Pompey having played two more games than the Black Cats, Romeo could have added some strength and depth at the back for Sunderland.
Labelled as an "aggressive" player by Millwall manager Gary Rowett, Romeo, who is currently valued at £1.8m according to Transfermarkt, has certainly proved himself to be a solid performer in League One during his time with Portsmouth.
With this in mind, if Sunderland see an opportunity to secure the signing of Romeo when his loan deal at Pompey ends, he'd be an incredibly valuable signing if they are indeed still interested.
If their defensive problems have persisted too, he could just prove to be a worthy solution to the club's woes heading into a new season.
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