After being knocked out of the FA Cup by Stoke City this Saturday, Regis Le Bris‘ Sunderland the only focus now rests on achieving promotion outside Priority.
Prior to this narrow 2-1 defeat at the Stadium of Light, the Black Cats were on a 100% winning streak in January with two league wins in a row after getting the better of fellow promotion rivals Sheffield United in their own game before exiting the cup.
It’s now all about the Wearside side’s return to the league, with Sunderland just two points off the coveted automatic promotion spot in the tax division.
To help them in their bid to move up the table, Sunderland are now eyeing a clinical EFL goalscorer.
Sunderland want to sign EFL striker
As a football journalist Alan Nixon via his PatreonLe Bris’ men are now deep in the race to sign Stoke loanee Tom Cannon this January, with the growing likelihood that the 22-year-old striker could be sent on loan away from the Potters.
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Currently on loan from parent club Leicester City, Sunderland will be praying they are the lucky ones to land Cannon at the expense of other interested parties, with Nixon naming Sheffield United as another suitors looking at the Republic of Ireland international.
Why Tom Cannon would be a good signing for Sunderland
Having proven himself at Preston North End before moving to Staffordshire, it will be intriguing to see how this transfer saga plays out, with Sunderland no doubt looking to play the 5ft 11 centre-forward over Wilson Isidor.
What’s more, Eliezer Mayenda could come out of his shell even more if he links up with the potent 22-year-old, who has been a revelation in attack so far this January.
While Isidor has been a reliable source of goals for Le Bris’ team this season, s eight league strikes discharged home, fresh blood in the form of Cannon would likely be given the nod to lead the line over the Frenchman.
After all, the current hero of Stoke has another blow in league action when he was measured next to the loan Zenit from St. with lonely help also to his name in the Championship this season pushing him slightly ahead of Isidore.
Interestingly, the highly sought-after striker has proved to be a key player in the two games between Stoke and Sunderland this season, with the aforementioned Black Cats exit from the cup sealing Cannon’s 11th goal in all competitions for 2024/25.
Should Cannon move on from Stoke for a second loan spell with the Black Cats, he could form a wonderful partnership with Eliezier Mayenda in that new environment, and the 19-year-old prospect would reveal his Sunderland style as an attacking midfielder in recent games.
|
Mayenda’s appearances in the league in January |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Stat |
||
|
Minutes played |
90 |
89 |
|
Goals scored |
1 |
0 |
|
Assists |
1 |
1 |
|
It touches |
29 |
23 |
|
Recordings |
5 |
4 |
|
Key passages |
3 |
2 |
|
Sofascore statistics |
||
As we saw this January in league action, Mayenda can suddenly explode into Le Bris’s team at a moment’s notice, with just 52 accumulated touches against Sheffield United and Portsmouth, but three goal contributions came from the Spaniard regardless.
Cannon operates in a very similar fashion in that he has a lethal edge to his game, with his strike against Sunderland last time out coming from 19 touches of the ball, meaning that both Mayenda and the 22-year-old could be very dangerous together to contain Championship defences.
Marked as “outstanding” striker last season by former Hull City manager Liam Rosenior, Cannon only looks to get better and better in the here and now, with Sunderland’s promotion prospects greatly boosted by this remarkable capture that took place this month.
