Simon and Garfunkel, Wham!, Robbie Williams and Take That. Sometimes you have to accept you’re not the star of the show. We’ve seen Eliezer Mayenda depart for €25 million this summer, and at twenty one, the ‘Big Man’ most likely decided that backup minutes were not sufficient for his development.
Brian Brobbey’s excellence — both last season and this summer — has cemented his position as Sunderland’s starting number nine for the coming season, and following Mayenda’s departure, Wilson Isidor will
likely remain on Wearside, leaving Ahmed Abdullahi as Sunderland’s only other senior centre forward.
Whilst Abullahi has been highly rated, he’s found senior minutes extremely hard to come by and I wouldn’t be surprised if he were to join the likes of Jenson Seelt, Aji Alese and Dan Neil as players that’ve seemingly suffered from our accelerated success. With Premier League survival and now a European campaign being the goals of the club, a player may not be afforded the time or the opportunity to develop.
However, there are options to be found at the Academy of Light.
Trey Ogunsuyi and Finn Geragusian are highly rated and given the squad requirements of the Europa League, they may be given opportunities this season.
Geragusian has only recently signed a his first professional contract. I’m sure the pathway to first-team football was part of those negotiations, and perhaps a loan for the eighteen-year-old may provide some answers as to how he’ll cope with playing first team football against grown men.
Assuming we begin the season with Isidor and Brobbey, Régis Le Bris has two options with contrasting styles to lead our attack and the vast difference in styles between the two could certainly be seen as an asset. Should central defenders spend seventy minutes wrestling with the Dutchman, Isidor’s pace and willingness to run behind has the capability to confuse defences.
Conversely, you could argue it also poses questions for Le Bris.
Brobbey’s ability to occupy central defenders with his back to goal is something of a throwback in the Premier League and created a significant number of opportunities last season. It’s so that distinctive you could imagine a significant amount of our attacking preparation revolving around the gravity and space he generates. Isidor can’t replicate this, and it would be a waste of his talents to ask him to do so.
I truly believe we’ll see Brobbey easily top his 2025/2026 total of seven league goals next season. We’ve already seen this summer how, with good delivery, he’ll finish his chances, yet with Isidor providing an alternative option, recruiting for an additional backup will not be easy.
As a case study, let’s look at Tottenham’s struggles to find sufficient cover for Harry Kane.
I’m not stating that Brobbey’s quality is anywhere near as equivalent, but his near-certain position in the starting eleven is similar to Kane during his pomp in North London. For around a combined £90 million, Spurs recruited Vincent Janssen, Fernando Llorente and Richarlison to play second fiddle to Kane. You could argue that Richarlison has been the most successful out of that trio, but that isn’t saying a lot.
So, Florent Ghisolfi and company need to be wise with their recruitment here.
They likely have two routes to go down — the first of which is a young player that’s happy to wait for opportunities but has had first team minutes.
Experience could be the other option Sunderland look at, and an older head may be more satisfied with fewer minutes while providing additional leadership to the dressing room.
At thirty four, Callum Wilson has joined Brentford after scoring seven league goals last season. He’ll be a backup to Igor Thiago, and if a club as intelligent as Brentford can see the value in a veteran, I’m sure Sunderland could too.
I’ll be taking a look at just exactly what Brobbey does so well, and using that statistical profile to find the right player for the Lads. This isn’t what I think Sunderland will do, but rather what I think would be sensible for them to do.
Brilliant Brobbey
Let’s start with the obvious: Brobbey shines in an arm wrestle.
He’s in the top 10% of Premier League strikers and when you consider this isn’t really due to a dribbling threat, defenders are left with few options but to bring him down. Not only does this provide a platform for Sunderland’s ability to attack through set pieces, it’s such a fantastic outlet to relieve pressure and allow Le Bris’ side to move up the field.
Last season, Brobbey won 43% and 47% of his duels and arial duels respectively.
You can look at this and say he’s only coming out on top under half of the time, but he ranks in the top 20% of forwards in the league. Moreover, when you consider how often he can be isolated against defences, it only goes to show how effective the target man is.
As I’ve mentioned in previous pieces, from an offensive point of view, Sunderland didn’t shine in this regard, ranking in the bottom five sides for touches in the opposition box, xG, shots on target per match and big chances created.
This may provide context for the Dutchman’s attacking numbers amongst his Premier League peers compared to his World Cup numbers and his previous season at Ajax.
Given the small sample size, you can take his numbers during this summer’s World Cup with a pinch of salt. He did however start three of his four games, so it wasn’t as if he was coming on against tired defences. If you combine that with his last season at Ajax, he’s creating over one expected goal every other game.
Assuming Le Bris continues with a counter-attacking focus next season, he’ll need to continue to ensure over half of his shots are testing the goalkeeper while hoping he can increase his chance creation numbers to get the most of the players behind him.
So, for the shopping list, we need someone that’s winning just under half their duels, has physical attributes to occupy defenders and ideally taking around two shots per game. They’ll also have to be content with a backup role.
Liam Delap (Chelsea)
I feel Delap has really had a rough time at Chelsea.
Personally, I’d like to thank him for his hamstring injury, which caused Chelsea to recall Marc Guiu, and ultimately led Sunderland to sign Brobbey. But in all honesty, he’s now twenty three years old, took a leap from a relegated Ipswich side and has struggled.
Delap claimed the seemingly cursed number nine shirt in West London, following a season in which he scored twelve goals for the Tractor Boys — which, we can’t forget, was his first senior move from Manchester City’s academy.
If the likes of Julian Alvarez and Omar Marmoush are unable to find game-time behind Erling Haaland, even with thirty five goals in twenty six games for City’s U21 side you, can’t blame Delap for looking to move.
Sometimes players’ skillsets translate beautifully to more dominant sides — N’Golo Kante enabled Conte’s back back three to function and for Didier Deschamps to get the most out of Paul Pogba. Delap hasn’t found this to be the case at Stamford Bridge, and this has caused Chelsea to consider his future.
So, why would Delap choose a move to the North East to be Brobbey’s backup? Well, the obvious comparisons in play style are easy to see.
Both Delap and Brobbey aren’t afraid to be combative. Delap perhaps tests a referee’s patience more than the Dutchman, but this would enable Le Bris to rest Brobbey without the loss of a focal point up top.
Let’s compare his performances at Ipswich to Brobbey’s last year, as this will allow for comparison of starting centre forwards for two promoted sides.
In terms of their underlying threat both players are near identical, generating almost the exact same non-penalty xG per game.
Delap is shooting more often, both on and off target; however, Brobbey’s non-penalty xG per shot sits at around 0.17 compared to Delap’s 0.12. Over a thirty eight-game season, that would generate you around two extra goals on average. This may highlight Brobbey’s superior finishing and positioning, but a high shot volume from your striker is never a bad thing.
Aerially, Brobbey is the superior player, winning over one extra aerial duel per match at a higher success rate.
He also appears to be a greater box presence than Delap, taking more touches in the opposition area. — yet Delap combats this with his dribbling threat. Brobbey completes one dribble every ten matches compared with Delap completing just under 1.5 per ninety minutes, at over a 50% success rate.
They are both winning around 1.75 fouls per game and winning around 5.3 duels per game at a 40% success rate, and what that tells you is while they can both compete physically with an opposition defence.
Brobbey tends to find more success in the air, whereas Delap can run at the defence. Dovetailing Isidor’s pace to run behind, Brobbey’s ability to play with his back to goal and Delap’s ability to run at a backline would give Sunderland a variety of tools with which to try and break down an opponent.
I think what’s also apparent is the difference between how Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich side set up compare to how Le Bris set Sunderland up last season. Delap’s higher shot volume and lesser defensive contributions indicate that McKenna was happier to carry the Englishman out of possession; whether Le Bris would do the same is unknown.
Chelsea paid £30 million for Delap last summer, and I’m sure Xabi Alonso will want to take a look at him.
However, with Nicolas Jackson returning and the impending arrival of Emmanuel Emegha, Delap could be searching for minutes. My suggestion would be a loan, after which Ghisolfi can assess any permanent move, which in turn would be dependent on any future Brobbey interest.
Santiago Castro (Bologna)
At twenty one, Castro has already made 105 appearances for Bologna, played in the Champions and Europa League and won an Italian Cup.
During his time in Italy, he’s already scored sixteen league goals from only fifty five starts. It may take some convincing in order to get the Argentinian to leave Bologna, but I’d like to lay out why it could make sense.
You may look at Castro and at first, disregard his likeness to Brobbey.
He may not have the frame of the Dutch international but his upper body strength, balance and determination more than make up for it. More than happy to compete with centre backs, he also possesses the same ability as Brobbey to bring other players into play, with other qualities as well.
The chart above is of Castro’s percntile ranking last season, and what’s most striking is how well rounded the Argentinian is.
For example, he’s in the top 15% for aerial duels won, successful dribbles, chances created and accurate long balls. This is a player that can battle in the air with defenders, run at them and facilitate his teammates for an attack.
If you think of how Delap was lacking in his defensive actions, Castro is quite the opposite; he’s in the 79th percentile for his ball recoveries and possession won in the final third and the 88th for his defensive contributions, which shows that he’s aware of the job he has to do in defending from the front.
What you’ll notice from the video above his how these stats come to fruition.
More often than not, Castro is given the ball with his back to goal and is able to protect the ball from the defender — and from there, he has options.
If close enough to goal, he’ll use his ability to dribble in tight areas to generate space for his fantastic long-range shooting. If in transition or a compacted final third, he’ll look to flick the ball on to one of the players running off him.
When Bologna are in transition, he’s able to drop slightly deeper and then release players beyond him to run at defence.
Yes he isn’t the physical animal Brobbey is, but that’ll be extremely hard to replicate. What Castro offers is the ability to pose defenders many questions and although his receiving of the ball may look similar to Brobbey, the arsenal he carries with him is far greater than our current number nine.
Bologna will ask for a lot of money; fellow European giants AC Milan have been linked and it may cost us around £35 million. That seems a lot for a backup, but at twenty one, the lad won’t be thrown into the deep end straight away, can learn a lot from Brobbey, and should the time come, would be at an ideal age to replace him.
Think of it in the sense that you should never buy a cricket bat in the summer, or you should never panic buy in order to replace your Swedish striker at the end of a transfer window after you’ve just received a record fee for him.
Promise David (Union Saint-Gilloise)
Recently, Sunderland have been no strangers to sigining players from Belgium’s first division. Noah Sadiki, Chemsdine Talbi and Nilson Angulo all joined last season, and David could be another.
First of all, what a name!
You may have seen David come off the bench for Canada in this summer’s world cup.
At 6’5, it would’ve been hard to miss him but at that height, you can easily understand why he may be comparable to Brobbey in terms of his physicality. We shouldn’t assume a big lad plays like one (take Tammy Abraham as he’s only an inch shorter than David, but certainly doesn’t play like Brobbey).
We’ll take a look at their duel numbers in the league last year, focussing on aerial duel success and other metrics that could indicate whether the Canadian would be a suitable replacement up top.
Looking at their duel numbers, you can really easily see why David could be a suitable rotation option for our number nine position.
He’s almost identical in terms of duels won, both on the ground and in the air. They’re both creating around a chance and half every two games, but where they differ is in their shot numbers.
David is playing in a weaker league and for one of the more dominant sides, which would explain his higher shot volume. The concern would be that Brobbey is winning more fouls per ninety minutes. That could be a result of playing for a team that finished second in the League, whereas Brobbey is used as an outlet to relieve pressure and move the team up the field.
One thing David has which could aid Sunderland is his pace.
Over short distances, his accelaration is notable and combining that with his large frame enables him to find himself in dangerous positions in the final third. To me, this is ideal: you get a player that has comparable upper-body strength to Brobbey, but who also can pose defenders a different question.
Prior to the World Cup, Union Saint-Gilloise were rumored to be looking at around €20 million (£17 million). For a twenty-five-year-old that’s ready to make the next step, I believe this is a reasonable price.
Nicolò Tresoldi (Club Brugge)
We’re going back to Belgium for our next option — this time to take a look at the league’s top scorer, who managed nineteen goals and five assists last season.
Fellow European clubs Roma and Borussia Dortmund have been linked to the twenty-one-year-old from Germany. Given those links seem firm, Sunderland would have to move quickly.
It’s easy to take a look at a Golden Boot winner and say that he would be a good signing, but we’re looking for a specific profile of striker and in writing this, I’ve found there are very few similar players to Brobbey.
First of all, at twenty one, a move to England as a backup striker with European football on offer is a great pitch — Tresoldi would be offered the room to grow, and gain experience against other European sides.
Prior to last season, he was praised for his physical battles with defences and although lacking the end product to go along with his endeavour, twenty four goal contributions in four matches in Belgium last season would suggest that he’s found his clinical nature.
Arsenal are seemingly set to sign Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge, so there’s no reason for us not to look in this market. And while you can question the quality of opposition, when a player is in the top five percent of forwards in the league for xG, shots on target and goal contributions, it feels like a safer bet.
Last season, Tresoldi won more aerial and ground duels per game than Brobbey, and both at a higher success rate.
In terms of enabling other players, he created almost twice as many chances in every game than Brobbey did. Per ninety, Brobbey won 1.72 fouls compared to Tresoldi’s 1.66, indicating he can use his frame to gain field position for his side.
Offensively, he won’t generate 0.6 xG per 90, from 3.54 shots in the Premier League. But if we look pessimistically and assume those numbers halve, he would almost identically mirror Brobbey’s numbers from last term.
With space to grow, and without the pressure of a starting role in the league, I believe he could see Sunderland as the ideal next step in his career.
Breel Embolo (Rennes)
Although not quite of the level of Freddy Adu, Alexandre Pato or others, Embolo does belong among a class of touted ‘wonder kids’ that never quite fulfilled their potential.
At an early age, his size and athleticism highlighted him as a player to watch in the future. Whilst never quite reaching the levels he could’ve, he’s forged a respectable career for himself in the top divisions of Germany and France.
Now at Rennes (and competing with Eliezer Mayenda next season), Embolo is twenty nine. Last season, the Swiss managed eleven goal contributions through eight goals and three assists in Ligue 1, earning him a call up to Switzerland’s World Cup squad this summer.
Like many players we’ve compared with Brobbey, context is required.
In the case of Rennes, the caveat lies more with their style of play rather than their league position, as they’ll also join us in the Europa League next year.
Last season, you could’ve considered Embolo more of a ‘box threat’ than Brobbey and greater non-penalty xG shots and shots on target figures would certainly suggest so, but what I like about Embolo is his chance creation and duel numbers.
Whilst clearly weaker and less eager to compete in the air, he wins a great number of fouls and duels with a higher duel success rate than Brobbey. He also wins a great number of fouls, indicating he could serve as a pressure valve to Sunderland’s backline in the same manner as Brobbey.
At twenty nine, whether he’d be willing to compete for a starting position would perhaps be tricky to gauge, but should he be rotated in for Brobbey, I don’t believe there would be a significant drop off.
