Sunderland look good value to challenge for the Championship play-offs once again next season after getting the majority of their transfer business sorted early in the window.
However, questions regarding the future of Jack Clarke refuse to go away, while Tony Mowbray has also confirmed he will be without some key men when the new campaign gets underway in a month's time.
What Sunderland players are injured?
Speaking on Monday, Mowbray revealed in quotes carried by Chronicle Live that Corry Evans and Ross Stewart "won't be making the start of the season".
Dennis Cirkin, meanwhile, is "touch and go" for the big kick-off, while new signings Jenson Seelt and Nectarios Triantis are both nursing injuries and are being monitored.
All four would arguably have made Sunderland's starting line-up to face Ipswich Town on August 6 – and the latter two still might – with the absence of Stewart, in particular, a blow for Mowbray.
Are Sunderland going to sign Ellis Simms?
Stewart scored ten goals and assisted a further three in just 13 Championship outings last season – his average of 1.12 direct goal involvements per 90 minutes being the best of any Sunderland player, as per FBref.
However, the Achilles injury that cut his 2022-23 season short in January is also going to rule him out for the start of the 2023-24 campaign, and it remains to be seen how long it will take the striker to return to his previous best – if he ever does.
Sunderland also saw Amad Diallo return to parent club Manchester United at the end of the previous season, while Premier League clubs will continue to circle for Clarke, meaning Mowbray must surely move for another attacker to join fellow new recruit Hemir.
In Everton striker Ellis Simms, they could have the perfect choice. Simms was next on the list of the Black Cats' most proficient players last season, averaging as he did 0.72 goals and assists per 90 minutes across 17 regular-season matches.
The 0.56 goals per 90 scored by Simms last season came from an expected goals (xG) value of 0.39, meaning he scored 0.17 goals per 90 more than expected on the basis of his chances, whereas Stewart's 0.86 goals came from an xG of 0.84, so he scored near enough at exactly the rate you would expect.
What this tells us is that Simms is a deadly finisher at Championship level – or an "absolute nuisance" for opposition players, as Sunderland Echo reporter Phil Smith put it last season.
Simms struggled to have as big an impact in the Premier League last season when being recalled by Everton in January, and the Toffees appear to be ready to cash in if the right offer is made.
Ipswich Town are believed to have already had a £4m bid rejected for Simms, who is reportedly on as little as £3.3k a week, suggesting Sunderland had better follow up on their own interest swiftly.
Rather than gamble on the fitness of Stewart, Sunderland's hopes of promotion to the Premier League may well come down to whether or not they can bring Simms back to the Stadium of Light.