Sunderland fans need to soak up their side’s unbelievable story in the Premier League while they still can.
Of course, it would be monumental for the Black Cats to pull off an unexpected top-four finish on their return to the top-flight, but also, it’s potentially a tad unrealistic to expect them to be competing for a spot around the Champions League table all season long.
Fans of the Wearside giants wouldn’t be turning their noses up at safety, after all, having seen their beloved team be in the doldrums all the way down in League One, once upon a time.
But, after a mightily impressive five wins have now been collected from their opening nine league games, expectations have arguably shifted, with a comfortable mid-table finish – come the end of the gruelling 38-game marathon – not the craziest shout.
Regis Le Bris will just have to hope the bubble doesn’t burst anytime soon, as a possibly challenging January transfer window now comes into view.
Latest on Wilson Isidor's future
This is one major drawback to your success story being constantly in the limelight, as other suitors now attempt to poach your best talents from you.
Sunderland will have to stay strong, therefore, during what will be a likely hectic January window, with Football Insider recently revealing that scouts from several top clubs are tracking Le Bris’ main marksman in Wilson Isidor.
This comes after the composed Frenchman fired home his fourth Premier League strike of the season already, away at Chelsea last time out.
All this speculation surrounding Isidor’s future isn’t completely new, though, with reports back in September stating that Aston Villa were looking at the ex-Zenit St Petersburg attacker as another option up top, with a £35m price tag also rumoured.
With Villa struggling at the moment to get a tune out of Ollie Watkins, it isn’t the wildest suggestion to say that they could put their money where their mouth is and go after the Black Cats’ four-goal hero shortly, with Isidor being noted as looking “very comfortable” in the Premier League by Sky Sports’ Dougie Critchley directly after his side’s fantastic Stamford Bridge away day.
Brian Brobbey
4
0 + 1
Eliezer Mayenda
6
1 + 0
Sunderland aren’t overflowing with striker options if Isidor does depart, with Brian Brobbey – who cost a hefty £17.3m from Ajax this summer – yet to get off the mark for his new employers, away from putting his brute strength to good use against Chelsea to assist Chemsdine Talbi’s late winner.
Moreover, Eliezer Mayenda has somewhat faded into the background after a promising Championship campaign, as Sunderland now potentially prepares to go after this new striker, in a sensational January switch, to ease any Isidor-based worries.
Sunderland plot move for new striker
Even if the 6-foot-1 focal point were to remain put, Sunderland might be looking at adding depth to their centre-forward department, anyway.
Based on reports from Football Insider, the Black Cats could soon be welcoming back a familiar face to the Stadium of Light in the form of Chelsea hotshot Marc Guiu, who experienced an extremely short-lived three-game loan stint on Wearside earlier this campaign.
The £50k-per-week attacker would, unfortunately, be recalled, owing to injury issues depleting Enzo Maresca’s options in the striker spot.
Now, however, new reports suggest that a loan move for the Spaniard to return to Le Bris’ ranks might well be on the cards, as a spectacular return is plotted.
It will be interesting to see if the Blues do allow for Guiu to return to the North, considering the former Barcelona youngster has come back to Stamford Bridge and made quite the impression, with Maresca stating that the much-talked-about 19-year-old is “absolutely” in his first team plans, after bagging a Chelsea goal in the Champions League versus Ajax.
It could even be boldly argued that Guiu is a bigger talent than his Villa-linked counterpart, as the Spain U21 international now attempts to potentially set the Premier League alight, if a return to the Black Cats is signed off on.
How Guiu compares to Isidor
Initially, this might seem like a slightly naive take, considering Isidor is being tipped to move away from the Stadium of Light for £35m, after collecting four Premier League goals.
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In stark contrast, Guiu is yet to fire home a single Premier League strike situated in West London.
But, Isidor is very much prone to a no-show here and there in attack, too, with a mammoth 20 big chances missed last season in the Championship.
Consequently, his insane tally of four strikes, despite averaging just 12.8 touches of the ball per Premier League clash, is very unlikely to be sustainable in the long run.
Whereas, all of Guiu’s numbers to date in the senior game point in the direction that he could become even more lethal if given extended runs in a first-team setting, with the 19-year-old already being branded a “nightmare” for defenders to deal with by talent scout Jacek Kulig, irrespective of him only lining up for 30 senior games across his fledgling career.
The Granollers-born starlet has also been able to find the back of the net in some very intimidating environments, with the Blues’ number 38 already managing to score in the Champions League for both Barca and Chelsea, even if he still cuts a wide-eyed presence.
Chelsea
20
7 + 0
Barca Atletic
17
6 + 4
Barca Youth League
8
2 + 0
Barcelona
7
2 + 0
Sunderland
3
1 + 0
The table above only reinforces Guiu’s “exceptional” goalscoring ability – as he was once also lauded by former youth coach Albert Capellas – with Guiu even managing to fire home one solitary effort for Sunderland earlier in the season, before he saw his spell come to a sharp close.
Nine goals on the books of both Chelsea and Barca at a senior level will also encourage the Black Cats even more as they prepare to go back in for their ex-loanee, with a confidence that he could step up and be Sunderland’s main man if needed, having never looked fazed by any of the hurdles that have disrupted his journey so far.
There is also so much room for Guiu to grow and learn, with Le Bris perhaps the perfect manager to get more out of the exciting Spaniard in the short term, having garnered a “meticulous” reputation as a head coach, as noted by one of his ex-players in Matteo Guendouzi.
Moreover, the former Lorient boss also played a pivotal role in Jobe Bellingham exploding into life more on Wearside and eventually joining Borussia Dortmund, with Guiu perhaps dreaming of a similar rise, which is kick-started by working under Le Bris again.
On the contrary, Isidor could well have peaked already as an effective poacher in the Premier League, as Sunderland now works out the best possible contingency plan if their much-loved number 18 does leave imminently, with everything pointing to Guiu rejoining the ranks being a smart next move.
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