Eliezer Mayenda is Sunderland's man of the moment!
Yesterday at 02:00 AM
The Spanish striker is on course to hit double figures this season, and his career in red and white is a lesson in patient development.
Eliezer Mayenda signed for Sunderland in the summer of 2023. He was the latest young, unproven recruit to land in Wearside and one who would have a frustrating first campaign here.
An injury in pre-season put him out of action until November, and weeks later he was sent off to Hibernian.
Fast forward to summer 2024 and Mayenda returned to Sunderland after a disastrous spell in Scotland. Getting games for the reserves, it looked as though this was a waste of time for both Sunderland and Mayenda. Ahead of the new season kicking off, he was given the backing of new manager Regis Le Bris. It's a show of support that must have been a major boost for Mayenda, and with hindsight, this has been proven.
This season he has 13 goals and assists in 28 appearances, and his brace at Sheffield Wednesday was a gentle reminder of how much he's progressing as a forward. His goal against Cardiff on Saturday was an example of how lethal we can be when we press teams hard. Cardiff didn't look like they wanted the ball for one second, resulting in them gifting us the ball, and a slick finish from Mayenda is evidence that he is finding his feet.
Not long ago, he was missing key chances, and he was public enemy number one in the eyes of some supporters. The missed opportunities against Blackburn and then Stoke were disappointing, and they could have shredded the confidence of a 19-year-old. Yet it appears that Mayenda has taken these touch lessons and is channeling them the right way.
He could have regressed and taken on the desperate attributes strikers out of form sometimes find themselves. These include trying too hard to get to everything and to strike the ball as hard as possible with no real thought on placement. Instead, his finishing has improved a great deal and his Cardiff goal was the latest example of this.
Mayenda's game time has been limited in 2025 so far, but in his six starts, he's notched five goals and two assists. RLB has made it clear that Mayenda will be utilised and there's something about playing both the Spaniard and Wilson Isidor together that the boss isn't keen on, but this time will come soon enough again.
An example of being patient and working hard behind the scenes, Mayenda shows that young players should be trusted and given the benefit of the doubt at times. After a turbulent campaign last year, it looks as though Mayenda is developing into a quick, powerful, and clinical centre forward and the combination of all of these must make him a nightmare to defend against.
Eliezer Mayenda is the profile of a footballer who can thrive at Sunderland. Strikers were a problem for us in the not so distant past, but the Spaniard is one half of a forward pair that has 26 goal contributions between them. Scoring goals hasn't been an issue this season but the signing of Isidor has been second in terms of enjoyment only to the rapid development of Mayenda, I'm excited to see where we can go with these two as options.
