How did Sunderland manage to sign Noah Sadiki?
Wilson Isidor has been in electric form for Sunderland this season.
After all, it was Eliezer Mayenda who, towards the end of a successful promotion push, had forced his way into Regis Le Bris’ preferred XI, and had even gone as far as to score a pivotal equaliser at Wembley some four months prior to that sun-dappled curtain-raiser against West Ham.
Of course, over the course of that balmy afternoon in mid-August, both Mayenda and Isidor would find the back of the net, but across the next few weeks, it would be the Frenchman who would ultimately wrestle back de facto control of the centre forward role from his young teammate.
Goals against Brentford and Aston Villa in Sunderland’s next two home outings, plus a predatorily taken leveller against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last Saturday, have not only propelled Isidor’s running tally for the campaign to four goals in nine outings, but have also seemingly convinced Le Bris that he is the man to lead his line for the time being, ahead of both Mayenda and summer signing Brian Brobbey.
It has been quite the purple patch for a player who embarked on a barren stretch of 13 goalless matches between February and the first leg of the Championship play-off semi-final last season, and who had faced questions over whether he was capable of making the step up to top flight competition from some quarters.
As Black Cats legend Marco Gabbiadini put it earlier this week: “I think he's really upped his game. You know, he really has. I think last season, he was a slow starter. It took him a while to get into the rhythm of the club, but I think he soon became a bit of a favourite...
“He maybe wasn't expecting to start, but he's took his opportunity, and his finishing is excellent. You know, he's took advantage of the few chances that he's had, because we haven't created as many chances as some of the teams we've played against, but we've been pretty ruthless, which is a nice trait to have.”
And it turns out that “ruthless” is indeed the word, because when it comes to being economical in his output, there are very few in Europe who can claim to eclipse Isidor at the present moment in time.
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According to statisticians DataMB, the Sunderland striker is on course to average 6.92 goals per 100 touches this season, showing that he requires fewer opportunities and less time on the ball than many of his peers to make a telling impact. What’s more, in terms of those who are currently bettering him in that regard, it is only Eintracht Frankfurt striker Jonathan Burkardt at 8.98 goals per 100 touches, and Manchester City juggernaut Erling Haaland at 12.12 strikes per 100.
In other words, Isidor is not only one of the most clinical strikers on the continent at the time of writing, but finds himself in immensely illustrious company. It wasn’t so very long ago that many on Wearside were okay with the prospect of him warming the bench, now he’s rubbing shoulders with a player of Haaland’s stature; who knows how much further this season can take the Black Cats talisman.
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