There are some footballers that you take to almost immediately.
Sometimes it’s about performances, sometimes it’s about attitude, and sometimes it’s the feeling that a player understands what a place is about. To be cliched, they ‘get it’ — and Wilson Isidor is one of those players.
Sunderland recently announced that Isidor has signed a new contract, keeping him at the club until 2030, and the news was met with reactions across Wearside.
In modern football, it’s rare to see players establish connections
with clubs and fanbase quite like the one built by Isidor at Sunderland. To put it simply: we love him and he loves us. It’s fantastic news that Isidor will be with us in the next chapter of our journey…and what a journey it’s been so far.
When Isidor arrived on loan from Zenit St Petersburg, he was hardly arriving with the profile of a player destined to become a Premier League and World Cup striker, yet he quickly endeared himself to Sunderland fans via his energy in interviews, as well as his comments at the night with new signings the club hosted, particularly in knowing what ‘FTM’ meant before even appearing in a red and white shirt.
He scored scored thirteen goals during his first season, including a crucial playoff goal at Coventry City as Sunderland secured promotion to the Premier League.
We made Isidor’s loan move permanent in the January of that season, and he became a permanent fixture of our ongoing journey. The flag waving at Middlesbrough and brilliant volleys against Coventry and Oxford throughout the season lifted Isidor’s profile and only helped to improve the Haitian’s relationship with the Sunderland faithful.
The Premier League then beckoned, and there was collective faith that Isidor had the physical attributes and poacher’s instinct to thrive in the top flight — and we didn’t have to wait long to be proven right.
He netted in the first three home games of the season, including the third on the opening-day victory over West Ham United, a late winner against Brentford and a late equaliser for ten-man Sunderland against Aston Villa.
It wasn’t all plain sailing for Isidor last season, though, and aside from one goal at Stamford Bridge in late October, he didn’t get on the scoresheet until April at Villa Park, scoring the equaliser before the Lads fell to a late 4-3 defeat to Aston Villa, before netting again at the Hill Dickinson Stadium in a crucial 1-3 win over Everton.
Rumours of a departure in January of 2026 didn’t help, with a minority being unconvinced of Isidor’s commitment to the club, and a departure this summer was widely expected, with a host of clubs — including West Ham, Hull and Ipswich — interested in signing him.
A World Cup appearance and potential goal of the tournament against Morocco only seemed to make it less likely that Sunderland would keep hold of the striker, with Brian Brobbey clearly Régis Le Bris’ first choice up front.
However, following the sale of Eliezer Mayenda, Le Bris was quite forthright in saying Isidor would remain at Sunderland, although rumours persisted, Sunderland announced on Thursday, his twenty-sixth birthday, that Isidor had signed a new contract to remain at Sunderland until 2030.
The numbers tell part of the story so far, with twenty goals in eighty four appearances for Sunderland, but they don’t fully explain why the supporters have taken to him so much.
Isidor is wonderfully chaotic, running around like a loose greyhound at times and never short of confidence, and there’s a constant sense that something might happen when he gets beyond that last man.
That’s what makes Isidor the perfect Sunderland player, and this isn’t simply about protecting an asset — it’s about keeping a player that sums up the identity of this team and the squad Florent Ghisolfi and Le Bris are building.
With a Europa League campaign and a lot more chances for minutes to come, there’ll be more big nights under the lights, more away day memories and more moments that make us love Isidor even more.
From being out of favour in Russia and securing a Championship loan, to the Premier League and European football, he came to Sunderland to make the Mackems dance, and let’s hope Isidor will keep us dancing until 2030 and beyond.
It’s been some story, and the best might still be yet to come.
