Dan Neil has now offered his verdict on Sunderland’s struggling striker situation.
Speaking to the Sunderland Echo, the midfielder said he was ‘sure’ that one of them would get off the mark soon.
The Black Cats have lacked a prolific goalscorer ever since Ross Stewart suffered a long-term injury at the start of the year, before their worries were made even worse when he completed a deadline day move to Southampton.
Sunderland have had two transfer windows since to pick up the Scot’s replacement and ended up bringing in four new forwards over the summer.
Nazariy Rusyn looks to be the most experienced after netting 13 goals in the Ukrainian Premier League last season, while the remaining three are yet to reach their 21st birthday and only have one professional goal between them.
It was Luis Hemir Semedo that took up position in Sunderland’s opener against Ipswich Town, followed by a spell up front for Mason Burstow, who has now been replaced by Rusyn.
While Eliezer Mayenda has only just recovered from an injury, we are yet to see a single goal scored by any of the new attackers.
While it is a clear concern for Tony Mowbray and the fans, Dan Neil has praised the summer signings and has claimed we need to be patient with them.
“Timo [Tuterov] has been in the changing room translating [for Rusyn], but all three strikers have different characteristics,” Neil said.
“I think Hemir is a big target man who probably needs to get his body in a little bit more and use his physical presence. I think he’s a brilliant player, has got really good feet for a big man.
“Rusyn is sharp, wants to run in behind. You see for my goal (against Norwich) he makes a really good run to drag the two centre-halves out and leaves space for me.
“Mason has got a little bit of everything, we just need to be a bit patient with him. We need to remember that two of them are very young lads and Naz has come in from a different country and there is a bit of a language barrier. Once one of them scores one I’m sure they’ll start flying in for them.
“We just need to be a bit patient and maybe help create a little bit better opportunities for them to get them off the mark. Whichever one plays, they are all talented boys and I’m sure one of them will notch one soon.”
Is Dan Neil right or just being positive?
A lot of people will disagree, but I’m really not sure our strikers are the problem.
I think both Mason Burstow and Nazariy Rusyn have put on some promising displays since joining the club, while it is only really Luis Hemir that has been particularly disappointing.
Fans are complaining that none of them have got off the mark, but have they really had the chance? It’s not like any of them have really missed any clear-cut chances or are putting it wide match after match. We just don’t seem to get the ball to them.
Don’t get me wrong, Patrick Roberts and Jack Clarke are exceptional footballers and what they do clearly works. However, they will often try to work the ball into the box themselves or score from distance, leaving our striker on his own with very little opportunity to make an impact.
I think that is where Burstow struggled as he doesn’t seem to have quite as much impact off the ball, but it could be where Rusyn proves to be a success. The Ukrainian has played out wide a lot and has brilliant movement, so if we are patient we could see him become a real threat.
Burstow and Hemir have endured difficult starts to the campaign but I wouldn’t say they are bad players. They just don’t seem to be fitting into our team right now.