If there’s one thing that Sunderland AFC has developed a real knack for in recent years, it’s the ability and the willingness to offer ample opportunities to players who arrive at the Stadium of Light with a point to prove, potential to fulfil, and a desire to develop both as footballers and individuals.
During the Alex Neil/Tony Mowbray-overseen Championship campaign of 2022/2023, Amad Diallo benefited enormously from this policy and after some relatively uneventful early appearances, the talented
Ivorian eventually began to light up the division, playing a key role in helping the Lads embark on what felt like an against-the-odds playoff run during a memorable end to the season.
In 2024/2025 it was the turn of Eliezer Mayenda, whose evolution from former Hibernian loanee to explosive, game-changing centre forward was quite something. His goals and performances proved vital on the road to promotion, eventually providing full vindication of the faith shown by both Régis Le Bris and the wider backroom team.
Now, it’s another Sunderland forward who finds himself in the spotlight and as we prepare to resume our Premier League campaign with the visit of out-of-form Wolves to Wearside, I believe it’s time for Brian Brobbey to be given his first major opportunity — that of leading the line when we kick off against Vitor Pereira’s side.
This may be a controversial view given how well both Wilson Isidor and Mayenda have taken to life in the top flight, but Brobbey represented a sizeable investment for Sunderland and I really don’t see a more opportune moment to bring him into the starting eleven, to see how he fares against a side whose confidence may be fragile and against whom he may fancy his chances of registering his first league goal in red and white.
As his Sunderland career is still in its early stages, it’s essential to divide this particular argument into two distinct segments — one concerning Brobbey the footballer and the other concerning Brobbey the individual.
Given the well-documented and frankly terrifying personal strife he’s endured in recent times and the impact it undoubtedly had during his final season at Ajax, one thing the young striker surely needs to feel is the full backing of everyone around him. His transfer to Sunderland represented a fresh start, you would hope that he’s utterly determined to ensure it doesn’t go to waste and if he’s selected on Saturday, a packed Stadium of Light will doubtless greet him enthusiastically.
After a minor (and utterly nonsensical) controversy that stemmed from him being labelled the “worst signing since Altidore” following Sunderland’s loss to Manchester United, there would’ve doubtless been a determined behind-the-scenes effort to ensure his confidence wasn’t knocked and whilst many of his teammates have been on international duty, Brobbey’s hopefully been applying himself diligently on the training pitch and ensuring that Le Bris potentially has a decision to make this week.
It’s easy to knock a big-money striker and to highlight supposed weaknesses in their game if they don’t get on the scoreboard within two or three games, but any footballer is only as effective as the environment in which they’re operating and team’s style of play allows them to be. That’s a hard and fast rule and Brobbey is clearly a player of huge potential, one whom we felt the fee spent was fully justified.
His goalscoring statistics from his time in Amsterdam back that up and although the jump from the Eredivisie to the Premier League has been a very difficult one to make over the years, with Luis Suarez arguably the only man to really buck that trend, Brobbey is fortunate enough to have landed in an elite coaching environment and has joined a team filled with players who — as we’ve already seen — are driven by a desire for constant improvement and a determination to help the club progress.
With that in mind, why wouldn’t he be inspired and excited to potentially be part of something promising on Wearside? What’s stopping him from tapping into what made him such a potent finisher in the Netherlands, using his attributes effectively and giving us another dimension up front?
As is always the case in such instances, it’s very much within the player’s hands.
The chances will come, hopefully starting this Saturday, and then it’ll be down to Brobbey to show that along with Isidor and Mayenda, he can form a goalscoring trio that’ll be reliable enough to keep Sunderland firmly on track this season.
Here’s hoping!
