In recent weeks, though, prior to this weekend’s 3-1 win versus Norwich City at the Stadium of Light, the club had suffered three consecutive defeats.
In those three matches, the Black Cats had scored just one goal, highlighting a real issue faced by Tony Mowbray’s side – their lack of striking options.
Naturally, having lost Ross Stewart to Southampton in the summer, the club’s striking options were weakened, but, as you can see from the list below, there were a number of attacking options signed for the club this summer, too.
| Sunderland – 2023/24 Signings | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player Name | Signed From | Loan/Permanent |
| Nazariy Rusyn | Zorya Lugansk | Permanent |
| Jenson Seelt | PSV | Permanent |
| Jobe Bellingham | Birmingham City | Permanent |
| Eliezer Mayenda | FC Sochaux | Permanent |
| Luis Semedo | Benfica B | Permanent |
| Nectarios Triantis | Central Coast | Permanent |
| Bradley Dack | Blackburn Rovers | Permanent |
| Timothee Pembele | PSG | Permanent |
| Adil Aouchiche | FC Lorient | Permanent |
| Nathan Bishop | Man United | Permanent |
| Mason Bustow | Chelsea | Loan |
Namely, these are Nazariy Rusyn, Eliezer Mayenda, and Luis Semedo, who were brought in on permanent deals, and Mason Burstow, who was signed on loan from Chelsea.
Based off of his recent comments, though, Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray does not really fancy any of those options at present.
What has Tony Mowbray said about Sunderland’s strikers?
Indeed, talking to the media ahead of Sunderland’s match against Norwich this weekend, Mowbray discussed his strikers, who are yet to find the scoresheet this season.
“Are they ready?” Mowbray questioned of the quartet, via the Sunderland Echo.
“They’re young, we’re driving them in training, are they taking the back off the net in the goal every day in training? If they were, I’d be putting them in the team.
“They’ve come from different countries are finding it difficult to acclimatise and adjust to the intensity of what we do. If they were breaking the net every day, they’d be in the team.
