The Sunderland fans in the Football Transfer Tavern will once again be concerned by their side’s plight as they currently sit bottom of the Premier League table – three points from safety.

Saturday’s 2-0 defeat against West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns was their third in a row in the top flight, and they haven’t picked up all three points since a 1-0 victory against Watford at the Stadium of Light in the middle of December.

With Patrick van Aanholt joining Crystal Palace, Lamine Kone away at the African Cup of Nations with the Ivory Coast, Papy Djilobodji facing a four-match ban after being charged by the FA for an incident against the Baggies and an overreliance on Jermain Defoe to get their goals, Mackems manager David Moyes will be looking to strengthen his squad before the close of the January transfer window next week – the Mackems supporters standing at the bar know they need reinforcements, and quickly.

On Tuesday he brought in free agent Joleon Lescott until the end of the campaign with the former England international becoming another one of the players he worked with during his spell as Everton boss to move to Wearside – the landlord isn’t convinced on this one though.

Here are SIX short-term deals Sunderland should seriously look into securing in the coming days…

Phil Jagielka

As we mentioned in the introduction, with Sunderland’s best centre-back Lamine Kone still away at the African Cup of Nations and fellow centre-half Papy Djilobodji set to miss their next four matches through suspension, David Moyes is extremely short of options at the back – the Mackems fans in the tavern know their team will need more clean sheets to boost their chances of pulling off another great escape.

He has brought in Joleon Lescott but it is certainly something of a risk with the former Manchester City man not having played for 114 days prior to his arrival – a 3-0 defeat for AEK Athens against Olympiacos – not exactly an addition to whet the appetite of the Black Cats supporters standing at the bar.

The Scottish manager may still want to add some more experience to his backline before the transfer window closes, and there would be few better options than Everton’s Phil Jagielka, who Moyes knows well after signing the defender during his spell as boss at Goodison Park.

Ross McCormack

Aston Villa would have had high hopes that the prolific Championship marksman McCormack would have helped fire them straight back to the Premier League this season following a £12m move from Fulham, but it has turned out to be a bit of a nightmare for both parties.

The Scottish forward has struggled to break into the first team, and he looks set to have no future at Villa Park under manager Steve Bruce after being banished to train with the Under-23 squad as a result of him repeatedly missing training – the Mackems fans standing at the bar could take some convincing on this one!

While the 30-year-old has struggled in the Midlands, he is a proven goalscorer and David Moyes could be tempted to see if a loan deal until the end of the season could be a possibility – the landlord thinks it would be nuts to bring in a player with no top flight experience at this stage of the campaign though.

Tim Cahill

With the likes of Joleon Lescott, Steven Pienaar, Jack Rodwell and Victor Anichebe on the books at Sunderland now, it appears as though David Moyes enjoys working with players that he has managed before.

Another one of his former stars from his days at Goodison Park with Everton is Tim Cahill, who is currently appearing for Melbourne City in his home country – the landlord maybe thinks he is a little too old now though.

The 37-year-old may be getting on but after scoring 56 goals in 226 Premier League appearances during his career, Moyes could be tempted to see if he could secure a deal for Cahill until the end of the season in order to get some more goals from midfield – the Mackems fans in the tavern may feel there is a little to lose on this potential deal.

Patrice Evra

Former Sunderland manager and now Crystal Palace boss Sam Allardyce was said to be interested in bringing the France international back to the Premier League from Juventus during the January transfer window, but he has sealed a deal for Sunderland left-back Patrick van Aanholt instead – a move that would have enfuriated some of the Black Cats fans standing at the bar.

With David Moyes now short of options at full-back, he could potentially be looking at bringing the out-of-favour Evra back to England, and knows the 35-year-old well having worked with the Frenchman during his short tenure as manager of Manchester United in the 2013/14 campaign – the landlord isn’t sure he would be tempted to move to the Stadium of Light though!

Emmanuel Adebayor

Although he is currently representing Togo at the African Cup of Nations, the former Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham striker is a free agent and with David Moyes needing more goals to take some of the pressure off of Jermain Defoe, he could be considering a deal for the 32-year-old – the Sunderland fans standing at the bar would be concerned about his temperament though.

In fact, Adebayor joined Crystal Palace this time last year until the end of the season but he struggled to replicate the goalscoring form he had shown previously in the Premier League – he scored just one goal in 12 top flight appearances for the Eagles – a stat which won’t convince the landlord that this would be a good deal for Sunderland.

However, the attacker does have some pedigree and the ability to score a goal out of nothing and that could be something that appeals to Moyes right now.

Robbie Keane

Like Adebayor, the Republic of Ireland striker is a free agent and another player that David Moyes must be considering signing on a short-term deal – especially with the limited budget he is said to have.

Keane’s latest spell in his career came in the MLS with LA Galaxy, and he proved he hasn’t lost that knack of putting the ball in the back of the net by scoring 104 goals in five seasons in America – stats that will impress the landlord.

Having worked with Sunderland’s star man Jermain Defoe before during the duo’s time together with Tottenham, Moyes could potentially see them reigniting that partnership to lead the Mackems to Premier League safety – it is certainly a prospect that the Black Cats fans in the tavern would be keen to see.

Do you agree, Sunderland fans? Let us know below.