It wasn't too long ago that Wilson Isidor was hailed as a "one-man war machine" by Sky Sports reporter Dougie Critchley. The French striker has not managed to keep up with Sunderland in the Premier League, though.
That is the nature of the beast that is the Premier League, whose pitches have claimed many talented Championship stars in the past. Isidor has only scored four goals in the league this season, but more concerning is the fact that he has averaged 9.3 touches per game while winning only 23% of his duels.
Sunderland's Wilson Isidor
Sunderland have been immense this season, not only set to comfortably stay up but do so with an outside push for Europe. Isidor's struggles have been countered by the success of those welcomed to the Stadium of Light last year.
The recruitment has been on point, and no mistake, but now Regis Le Bris and co face a fight to keep a grip on some of their star players throughout the summer transfer window. Take Brian Brobbey, for example...
Sunderland could replace Brian Brobbey with former Premier League star
It wasn't very long ago that Le Bris commented on Brobbey's development. He's getting better and better. Sunderland know it, but sadly, so do some of Europe's heavyweights.
Bayern Munich are understood to have made checks on the Dutch striker, according to the Independent's Miguel Delaney, and if they decide to launch a concerted bid, the reality is that Sunderland would do very well to withstand the bid.
While Isidor will fancy his chances in a role of greater importance next season, Brobbey is a cut above, and it's clear that a well-worked signing will need to be engineered once again.
brobbey-sunderland-spurs
As per Sports Boom back in January, it was revealed that Sunderland have been plotting a move for AZ Alkmaar striker Troy Parrott, and now, they could act on their interest, with the Brobbey news accentuating the need for another goalscorer at the front of Le Bris's system.
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Leeds United have more recently been linked with a move for the Republic of Ireland striker, who may well fancy another shot at the English top flight, so Sunderland are going to want to move swiftly to secure a developing forward seemingly destined to return to the Premier League.
Why Troy Parrott is considered "similar to Kane"
Parrott is a product of Tottenham Hotspur's youth academy, but unlike Harry Kane before him, he did not nail down a starring spot in north London, instead sold to AZ Alkmaar in 2025 after so many loan spells. He hasn't looked back.
A robust and relentless runner, Parrott differs from Brobbey, but he's still got the potential to become a standout striker in the Premier League, having scored 29 goals and provided ten assists for Alkmaar this season.
Interestingly, Brobbey scored only seven times across 44 matches for Ajax in 2024/25.
One prominent analyst has even remarked that the Irishman is "similar to Harry Kane", developing at his own pace. Progress in football is rarely linear, and for strikers, this is doubly so, with many taking a while to break from their shells and establishing themselves as prolific Premier League and European stars.
Premier League - Record Scorers
Player
Alan Shearer
Harry Kane
Wayne Rooney
Mohamed Salah
Andy Cole
Kane is one of the greatest strikers of his generation, and it would be unfair to expect Parrott to hit the same heights for Sunderland, but he is capable of scoring many goals with both of his feet, so much technical quality and intelligence in the final third.
Perhaps this is further underscored by the fact that the Irish superstar, 24 years old, has created six big chances in the Dutch Eredivisie this season, winning four duels per game.
He's more than just a goalscorer, and that's what Sunderland need. Brobbey is hardly just a goalscorer; he's a powerful, hulking ram of a forward, and though Parrott wouldn't mimic that, he would continue to dynamise the way Le Bris's attacking structure is set up.
troy-parrott-ireland-world-cup-1
Whether Sunderland manage to fend off approaches for Brobbey this summer is a daunting question, but if Bayern prove persistent, a door could swing open for a star such as Parrott, hungry to return to England and prove that he can emulate Kane in becoming one of the Premier League's star strikers.
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