Should Sunderland fans be worried about lack of signings as Black Cats gear up for pre-season training?
Get the latest SAFC updates & transfer news straight to your inbox by signing up to our FREE newsletter Invalid Email Something went wrong, please try again later. Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice  Sunderland are set to kick of their pre-season campaign against Spennymoor Town in eleven days' time. The Black Cats are set to return to training some time before that, but a distinct lack of new faces at the Stadium of Light has fans worrying. The EFL transfer window opened on June 9, but the club are yet to announce any new signings and they're still waiting on Denver Hume, Aiden McGeady, Luke O'Nien and Charlie Wyke to commit to their future on Wearside. READ MORE: 'I had everything to push me on to the next level' - Jamie Chandler on the leg injury that ended his Sunderland career  The Black Cats seem resigned to the fact that Wyke will leave the club this summer, but are working hard to ensure their three other out of contract stars remain at the club. As things stand Lee Johnson has 18 first team players available at his disposal, but George Dobson is expected to leave the club this summer, while Will Grigg's future also seems to be away from Wearside. (Image: Getty Images)  If the two are to depart that would take squad numbers down to 16. Sunderland need new faces and it has to be sooner rather than later. Johnson spoke at length about not being able to have a pre-season with the squad and how it had affected his ability to get ideas across to the squad. So with a full pre-season on the horizon, it would be the perfect time to implement his ideas on the squad. You need just look at Lincoln City last season to see what an effective squad overhaul looks like, coupled with a style of play that was hammered into players. Sunderland are fortunate enough to have a fairly decent sized core of players who will have a rough idea of how the head coach wants to play. Nevertheless, Johnson would hope that he has at least three or four new faces in before they head back to training in order to maximise their output next season. Time will tell. One area that Sunderland must invest in, is the forward area of the pitch. Viv Solomon-Otabor is one name that has been linked with a move to Wearside, which should give the Black Cats an outlet on the opposite side to Aiden McGeady, who looks set to extend his stay at the club, if reports are to be believed. (Image: PA)  The loss of Charlie Wyke will prove a hammer blow with 30-goal a season strikers are hard to come by. Sure there are question marks over whether this campaign was a one off or whether he is the right man to lead the line in the long term, but you can't take away his stellar performances this season. Without Wyke's goals, they wouldn't have made the play-offs. Ross Stewart's performance in the second leg of the semi-final against Lincoln will give fans optimism moving forward if Wyke is to leave, but Johnson will want other options regardless. However, it's not just Sunderland who have been slow in the transfer market. Truth be told, the entire division has been slow. Whether this is a knock-on effect from the pandemic, or EURO2020 is taking its toll, clubs in the division haven't been as active as previous years. The fallout of the pandemic speaks for itself in terms of the economic downturn. As for EURO2020, Premier League clubs are no doubt watching a number of players at the tournament, which is slowing down their transfer activity. You could argue that it's then filtering down into the lower echelons of the game. To be honest, you'd expect the EFL transfer market to pick up in the next two weeks ahead of teams returning to training. The extensive work that's been going on behind the scenes throughout the season - and investment into Sunderland's recruitment team - means there's no immediate cause for concern just yet.