Sunderland: Kristjaan Speakman must take action after Dan Ballard news - View | OneFootball

Following the news that Dan Ballard will be out for six weeks due to injury, Kristjaan Speakman must seek further reinforcements at centre-back.

Sunderland will be without their strongest centre-back, Dan Ballard, for the start of the Championship season after the defender picked up an injury during a pre-season friendly against South Shields.

The 24-year-old will be sidelined for five more weeks, having already missed one week of pre-season because of the injury. On the upside, it was recently reported that Ballard has extended his contract at the Stadium of Light until 2028, putting an end to transfer speculation.

However, with Ballard injured, it leaves the Black Cats desperately short in a position where they already have little depth in terms of quality. With their opening Championship game against Cardiff City on the horizon, time is of the essence to recruit.

Director of football, Kristjaan Speakman, must take action and bolster an area of the team which could prove to be Sunderland's undoing at the start of the season.

Sunderland lacking quality at centre-back

With Ballard out injured, the centre-back position is very much up for grabs. Captain, Luke O'Nien, will almost certainly fill one of the two positions, but it is unknown who will partner him.

Jenson Steelt would have been the natural choice, but the Dutchman is expected to be out injured for the rest of the calendar year with a knee injury. That leaves Aji Alese, Nectarios Triantis, Leo Fuhr Hjelde and Joe Anderson as options to partner O'Nien, who started his career as a midfielder.

Alese is perhaps the front-runner, given that he has made more appearances. The 23-year-old has put in some promising performances for the Black Cats, and if it wasn't for injuries, he could have cemented his place within the side. However, the former Hammer has played predominately as a left back for the Wearsiders.

Regis Le Bris' other options include Triantis and Anderson, who were both loaned out last season, and Hjelde, who has mostly been utilised as a left back. Neither Triantis nor Anderson have made an impact at the Stadium of Light, and it remains to be seen whether they will be given an opportunity.

With just ten centre-back appearances between, the message to Speakman is clear that this is an area of weakness for Sunderland. The Black Cats need competition for places at centre-back, and Ballard's injury has emphasised that.

Ballard is injury prone

Sunderland are a stronger side with Ballard in the team and have missed his presence in the past due to injuries. The Northern Ireland international is a leader at the back and his pace, determination and timing in a tackle have made him a linchpin in Sunderland's back line.

However, his injury record is something of a concern, and Speakman must take this into account when analysing the squad this summer. It would be wishful thinking to think that Ballard will not pick up another injury this season.

Since arriving on Wearside, Ballard has had three significant injuries, which have kept him on the sidelines. The 24-year-old has suffered a broken foot, hamstring injury and knee injury during his spell at the Stadium of Light, and it is not yet clear how many games he will miss with his current injury.

In total, Ballard has missed 276 days and 35 games to date in a Sunderland shirt. This statistic alone should ring alarm bells for Speakman.

According to Michael Graham, Sunderland have made a loan enquiry about Leicester City defender, Ben Nelson. The 20-year-old made five appearances in the Championship for Leicester last season at centre-back. Furthermore, Nelson has had two loan spells in League Two, for Rochdale and Doncaster Rovers respectively.

If the Nelson news is anything to go by, then it would seem that Speakman is targeting youth to cover Ballard. Although Nelson could prove to be a success, he is arguably no improvement on what Sunderland already have.