Wilson Isidor was signed during a summer where Sunderland needed a clinical striker.
Initially signing on loan, there was sheer joy at some of the goals he scored during the Championship promotion season, with some of them being stunning.
After promotion was achieved, I remember there being more than a few other fans who said Isidor would take to the Premier League well, and four goals by October – including a strike in each of our first three home games – proved this was the case.
Although his form
dipped and his minutes were reduced in the second half of the season, we’d seen enough of Isidor to know that he could be a very useful top-flight centre-forward. Luckily, he was eventually able to rediscover his early-season form, bagging a couple more before the campaign was done.
When Brian Brobbey got up to full speed, starting spots for both Mayenda and Isidor were limited.
Speculation over whether Isidor was happy on Wearside began to grow and, by the time this summer came around, it felt almost inevitable that the newly declared Haitian international would be kicking off the 2026/27 season elsewhere – and his stunning goal for Haiti at the World Cup did no harm to his reputation.
There were rumours also that West Ham were interested, but it was shortly after this that the club seemingly briefed the press to say that Isidor wasn’t for sale this summer – good news for all involved.
Isidor is a quality striker and someone that’s grown so much in the two years he’s been on Wearside. His wide variety of finishes and sharp turn of pace have made him a nuisance to defend against, but a wonderful player to watch.
In a team full of personalities, Isidor is someone who stands out and comes across as a genuine joy to be around.
A lasting image of his Sunderland career – of which we hope there are still many more years – is standing in the Riverside Stadium with his shirt on top of a Middlesbrough corner flag he was holding high in the smoggy sky.
On a side note, he was bloody brilliant during that game, and the goal he scored, putting the ‘Boro keeper on his arse, was incredible to see in real time. It’s moments like this that made me realise I couldn’t have faced Isidor leaving in the very same summer as ‘chief vibesman’ Mayenda.
Now that we almost know for certain that Isidor will be a Sunderland player for at least another season, it’s time to look at what he can offer on the pitch in the coming months, and with the possibility of fifty games coming up, there’ll be plenty of opportunities for him to shine.
I can see it now…
On a cold night in maybe Romania or Poland, he breaks through the lines of a tired defence and rounds the keeper to make it 1-3 in injury time, bringing the points back to England. This is a dream which is far closer to being a reality than it was a few months ago.
Isidor was a great find by Kristjaan Speakman, signing for a couple of million pounds. Who knows – if he hits double figures and shines on the European stage, we may have a real fight to keep him in twelve months.
