Sunderland are looking to strengthen their forward line this summer once the transfer window opens up and have identified a prolific frontman in Spain, according to reports.
The Black Cats have had quite a difficult campaign in the Championship. Having finished inside the play-offs last season, the Wearside outfit are now inside the bottom half of the table, 16 points adrift of the top six, having scored and conceded 52 goals at both ends of the pitch.
Nevertheless, it wasn’t always downhill for the club this term. Fingers can be pointed to a number of different decisions made by the hierarchy that led to the side’s demise, particularly appointing Michael Beale as Tony Mowbray’s permanent successor and handing Mike Dodds the job for the remainder of the season after Beale’s departure in February.
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However, one disastrous decision was failing to sign a centre-forward in January with a proven record of scoring goals in the Championship. Sunderland have a very young frontline with many unproven, inconsistent strikers. Mason Burstow and Nazariy Rusyn featured 42 times in total for the Black Cats this season but managed to bag merely three goals.
As a result, Jack Clarke was heavily relied upon to find the net for Sunderland across three different head coaches. The winger, who has been linked with a move away from the Stadium of Light this summer, has bagged 15 goals in all competitions this term.
There were rumblings in January that the club would look to sign Kieffer Moore and even Ali Al-Hamadi before both went to Ipswich Town. In the end, the Wearside club failed to strengthen their forward line. The number ‘9’ position is still a weak point in the team heading into the summer window but Sunderland are reportedly still looking to sign a youthful frontman to lead the line.
According to Football Insider, the Black Cats are set to battle it out with Birmingham City and Cardiff City for the signature of Sevilla Atletico forward Musa Drammeh, who is out of contract with the Spanish side at the end of the season.
🇬🇲 Musa Drammeh also brought the Gambian flag to celebrate his side Sevilla FC reserve team's promotion to the Spanish 3rd division.
A 1-1 draw with Murcia on Sat. confirmed their title win and automatic promotion with 65 pts having a game to go.
He scored 10 goals this season pic.twitter.com/ITOGq1aOd8
— Foday Manneh (@foday_manneh_) April 28, 2024
It was first reported by Sunderland Nation before Christmas that the club were interested in signing him in the winter but a deal never came to fruition. The 22-year-old has had an excellent campaign with Sevilla’s B team, scoring 10 goals and recording three assists in 31 appearances.
Writer’s View
This could be a really exciting signing for Sunderland should Drammeh move to the club as he is a young centre-forward with an impressive goalscoring record. However, again, it doesn’t fix the side’s goalscoring woes up top.
Of course, there is a chance that Drammeh moves to the Stadium of Light and becomes a prolific frontman but there is also a big likelihood that there will be a settling-in period in a new environment just as there was with Rusyn and the other young strikers at the club.
Deputy Head of Writing
