Sunderland fans couldn’t believe their eyes when travelling to Burnley last time out as Wilson Isidor amazingly missed two penalties to keep the game at a 0-0 stalemate.
The unfortunate Frenchman would have wanted the ground to swallow him up at full-time, with James Trafford’s expert second denial coming right at the death resigning the Black Cats to an unsatisfactory share of the points.
It’s been no well-kept secret that the Wearside outfit have been looking at attacking reinforcements this January to try and take the pressure off of Isidor’s shoulders, but it looks as if Tom Cannon – who has been linked with the Stadium of Light – will be joining another team near the top of the Championship over Regis Le Bris’ men.
Sunderland's pursuit of Tom Cannon
It now looks likely that the ex-Stoke City loanee will be calling Sheffield United home over relocating to the Stadium of Light, with Chris Wilder confirming recently that the Blades remain in talks to bring the potent 22-year-old in before the transfer window slams shut.
With the South Yorkshire side also welcoming Ben Brereton Diaz back through the door recently, it’s clear that Sunderland’s rivals are bolstering their attacking ranks to try and gain an advantage in the heated promotion race.
But, with Isidor usually firing on all cylinders away from his notable off-day in Lancashire, the Black Cats do have an attacker already at the club that can be relied upon when games become tougher, with this academy starlet perhaps edging closer to some senior action soon to give the 24-year-old some healthy competition.
The Sunderland starlet who could be their own Cannon
Away from his horror show against the Clarets, Isidor is up to eight strikes for his promotion-chasing side in league action, with two strikes on the spin coming his way in the Championship before his damaging evening at Burnley.
But, he doesn’t really have any other strikers breathing down his neck trying to take his first-team spot off him, with Sunderland youngster Trey Samuel-Ogunsuyi perhaps the fresh talent that Le Bris could look to up top when opposition defences are visibly tiring.
After all, Cannon first began to make a name for himself as a deadly goal machine playing in the Everton youth structure before going on to score nine times this season for the Potters, with a devastating 51 strikes managed for the Toffees at both U18 and U21 level.
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Samuel-Ogunsuyi is starting to garner a similar reputation for being a sharpshooter in the Sunderland academy, with football talent scout Antonio Mango even labelling the teenage sensation as a “super talent” off the back of his goalscoring exploits.
Games
43
97
Goals scored
18
51
Assists
2
14
Whilst his numbers do pale in comparison to Cannon’s at a youth level so far, there is plenty to be encouraged by when looking at the 18-year-old’s golden streak of form this season alone, with the exciting Belgian helping himself to a mightily impressive nine strikes from nine games for 2024/25/
He has won himself a spot on the substitutes bench by Le Bris many a time this season in the Championship subsequently, alongside also reportedly being looked at by Liverpool.
The ex-Lorient manager could, therefore, be willing to give him more minutes to truly impress knowing that fellow academy product Tom Watson has been a revelation in the men’s team when selected.
Watson had two goals next to his name from six Championship starts when fit, with Samuel-Ogunsuyi potentially the next off the conveyer belt to star in the main set-up.
After all, if he was to a rip-roaring success, Sunderland would save a lot of cash with the Blades preparing to splash out £10m to land Cannon. Whilst, with Samuel-Ogunsuyi, they would be smug that another homegrown ace had been unearthed.
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ByStephan GeorgiouFeb 3, 2025
