The curious case of Sunderland's strikers

12/30/2024 01:00 AM

As missed chances continue to cost us, the calls to dip into the January transfer market for greater attacking firepower will grow louder, writes Phil West

When Eliezer Mayenda was presented with an excellent chance to score during Sunderland's opening-day victory over Cardiff City, a chance he sadly didn't take, you wondered how it would affect his confidence during the games that followed.

After spending the latter half of 2023/2024 on loan at Hibernian, the young Spaniard was brought back into the red and white fold by Régis Le Bris during the summer, and was starting to look like a good prospect as we prepared for the new season.

In any case, the missed chance against Cardiff didn't seem to affect him, as a two-goal salvo against Sheffield Wednesday shortly afterwards (the first of which was an emphatic finish; a genuine 'striker's goal') hinted that the potential was on the verge of being turned into something more consistent.

However, during his past two games, Mayenda has failed to convert two excellent chances.

With Wilson Isidor continuing to deal in either spectacular strikes or goalless performances and Aaron Connolly finding game time hard to come by, Mayenda's game-winning chance against Blackburn followed by a glorious headed opportunity against Stoke led to more frustration from the supporters as valuable points were dropped.

This is by no means an attempt to single out Mayenda.

He's a player I like and whom I do think could come good for us with time, but he's currently displaying all the hallmarks of a forward short on confidence and clarity of thought- traits that are worth their weight in gold in the heat of a promotion chase.

A touch more composure and decisiveness when faced with the onrushing Aynsley Pears at Ewood Park, and a more precise header in Staffordshire and Mayenda becomes the hero, but so fine are the margins that he ended up on the wrong side of the divide and was castigated on social media twice in three days- not unexpectedly, but perhaps unfairly viciously in some instances.

There's a very curious dilemma enveloping Sunderland's strike force right now.

Amid Isidor's annoying habit of theatrically claiming fouls and throwing his arms up in despair when things don't go his way (and his tendency to pop up with ridiculously good strikes), it's imperative that the goals continue to flow from other sources, particularly with Romaine Mundle and Tommy Watson still out of action.

Naturally, this brings us to what many fans would describe as the need for Sunderland to dip into the January transfer market and add more firepower to enable Le Bris to keep the red and white bandwagon on its upward trajectory.

It'll doubtless be a hot topic for the next four weeks as teams gear themselves up for the final sprint to the finish line, but it won't be straightforward.

At the summer talk-in, during which Kristjaan Speakman appeared alongside Le Bris, he declared that 'we'd been successful in playing without a striker' (something that was open to interpretation) and whilst Isidor has largely been successful in terms of numbers and the goals shared around in the opening months, do we need a greater edge up top; someone who can seize upon half-chances and bury them in an instant?

With a decent haul of goals for Hull City last season and a smart finish against Millwall to his credit, Connolly has the greatest pedigree in English football of all our forward options and should in theory be able to fulfil that particular brief.

At the moment, the Irishman seems to be a peripheral figure at Sunderland, but given his well-documented off-field struggles, perhaps a touch more grace is needed there.

Summer signing Ahmed Abdullahi is a real unknown quantity, and whilst the FA Cup tie with Stoke City (hello, old friend) represents an ideal opportunity for U21 hotshot Trey Ogunsuyi to showcase his talent, it feels unlikely that he'd be pitched into the chaos of a Championship promotion race.

It's a very safe bet that well-travelled Championship signings in the Kieffer Moore mould won't be photographed holding Sunderland scarves above their head next month.

We've been presented with plenty of evidence in recent times to dismiss that notion, but if we do want to fully grasp the chance that's presented itself this season and make a genuine tilt at a return to the Premier League, perhaps shoring up the attack with an out-and-out poacher would be a very well-advised move.

As for Mayenda? I hope he's managed smartly and that Le Bris and the coaches ensure that he's kept on the right track. Nobody wants to see a young player's confidence drain away in the glare of such an intense spotlight, after all.