Eighty-nine appearances and twenty goals in a Sunderland shirt, a promotion winner and now a Europa League player.
On 23 August 2024, Wilson Isidor was signed on loan from Zenit St. Petersburg — a move which would be made permanent on 1 February 2025 — and since then, he’s lit it up at the Stadium of Light, becoming somewhat of a ‘cult hero’ on Wearside and producing some great moments during his two years at Sunderland.
Looking back at his first season with us in 2024/2025, Isidor had some amazing
moments that saw the fans really take to him.
He scored thirteen goals in his debut season — notably against Middlesbrough, a full-pitch run and finish at Hull City, the two cheeky finishes against Blackburn Rovers and Oxford United, and the goal that made it 0-1 away at Coventry City in the playoffs.
The Boro match is particularly memorable because, as we all remember, he draped a Sunderland shirt over the Teessiders’ corner flag and waved it around the Riverside…to much Smoggie dismay!
I think that moment was his best of the season, although his goal in that match, as he sat Mark Travers down, and his goal away at Coventry were my two favourites from the Championship campaign.
Fast forward to 2025/2026 and Isidor was a promotion winner at Wembley, ready to take the Premier League by storm and he did just that, scoring in each of his first three consecutive home games, with all three goals coming after the seventieth minute and more importantly, helping Sunderland to secure points.
The Haitian international would go on to score a total of six Premier League goals, with his sixth coming away at Everton in our final away game of the season. Isidor slotted home a 91st-minute winner to make it 1-3 at the Hill Dickinson Stadium for a result that kept the European dream alive — a dream that would be realised just one week later.
In 2026/2027, Isidor has scored one goal in his first five league appearances. That goal was a fantastic low, driven effort against Fulham, securing all three points in a cagey 1-0 home win on matchweek two.
A Championship cult hero, promotion winner and now Premier League striker, Isidor proudly started Sunderland’s Europa League game with AZ Alkmaar on 16 September 2026, putting in a great performance on a historic night for the club.
From the Championship to promotion, becoming a Premier League goalscorer and now a European player, Isidor’s Sunderland story continues to unfold.
Long may it continue — both this season and for many years to come.
