Sunderland have today raised a few eyebrows by securing reinforcements in their fight to stay in the Premier League in the shape of Bayern Munich defender Jan Kirchoff.
Signing for an undisclosed fee, the defender is believed to have turned down three Bundesliga clubs in order to make the move to Wearside, clearly buying into Big Sam's plans for the future.
#SAFC are delighted to announce the signing of centre-back Jan Kirchhoff from @FCBayernEN! #WelcomeJan pic.twitter.com/W92Lwo3kkR
— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) January 7, 2016
The German U21 international had spent last season on loan at Schalke and was left out of Bayern Munich's winter-break training squad that flew to Doha yesterday after struggling to find first team opportunities, but it is still surprising that the negotiators at Sunderland were able to sell the club considering the tough situation they find themselves in.
Sunderland fans will no doubt be excited to see how he gets on, but should Kirchoff claim a place in the previously highly unreliable back four, could this spell bad news for John O'Shea ahead of Euro 2016?
Big Sam has been favoruing a three-centre-back formation since he took over, and the candidates for those positions now include Jan Kirchoff, John O'Shea, Younes Kaboul, Sebastian Coates, and Wes Brown.
It's clear that Wes Brown will no longer be called upon unless it's an emergency, and if Kirchoff is to be given a starting place, that leaves two spots to be contested by O'Shea, Kaboul and Coates.
While John would probably admit that his legs are not as dependable as they used to be, he has still probably been Sunderland's best defender this campaign. Sebastian Coates has been erratic in his performances, often costing his team goals due to individual errors. The same can be said too for Kaboul, who is currently injured at the moment, but when he was in the team he mixed the sublime with the ridiculous in the early stages of the season.
As a senior figure, and indeed captain at Sunderland, we imagine that Kirchoff should not threaten O'Shea's position immediately, but what this transfer has done if nothing else is offer Allardyce some options, so were the Waterford man to suffer a dip in form, it will no be far easier to bench him, which is not what any Irish fan wants to see with Euro 2016 on the horizon.
