Sunderland’s long wait for a Ross Stewart replacement came to an end last summer. The Black Cats signed Wilson Isidor who’s steadily becoming a bit of a revelation for the Black Cats.
Zenit loan man Wilson Isidor has scored some spectacular and important goals for Sunderland since he arrived during the summer transfer window.
The 24-year-old Frenchman now has nine goals in 26 Championship outings for the Black Cats, scoring what looked like the winning goal in Sunderland’s 2-2 draw against Plymouth Argyle last time out.
Having seemingly recovered from the dramas of his double penalty miss against Burnley earlier in the month, Isidor now looks set to play a key role in the second half of the season for Sunderland.
Likewise, Regis Le Bris is relying on Isidor doing so, with Isidor one of two strikers at the club following Aaron Connolly’s move to Millwall; Eliezer Mayenda being the other option up top.
Wes Brown thinks Sunderland must make Wilson Isidor’s stay permanent
Earlier in the season, it was revealed that Sunderland can sign Isidor permanent for £3.5million at the end of this 2024/25 campaign. More recently, it was reported that Sunderland do want to sign Isidor permanently.
Speaking to Football League World, former Black Cats man Wes Brown thinks signing Isidor on a permanent deal would be a good idea. He said when asked if he thinks the Zenit man is worth signing: “I do. He’s a player who has been instrumental, any time I’ve watched the games and highlights he’s been the focus of it.
“He looks very sharp, he can put the ball in the back of the net, he’s quick and he’s been very important for where they are at the moment in the league, which is a brilliant position – it’s a good eleven points between them and fifth.
“So they’re in the top four and fighting for automatic promotion, which is obviously what they’ve been looking to do the last couple of years. They’re getting better and better.
“He’s very important but the problem is when you do start scoring and you’re playing well, your valuation goes up and it’s very difficult to keep hold of players who are important to the team.”
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Are Sunderland in the clear to sign Wilson Isidor from Zenit?
Zenit may well be planning for life without Isidor next season after the Russian club signed Luiz Henrique during this January transfer window.
Either way, given the fact that Sunderland have the option to buy Isidor, the ball really is in Sunderland’s court. But £3.5million is a lot for the Black Cats, especially so if they remain a Championship club going into the 2025/26 campaign.
It would match the most expensive signing of the Kyril Louis-Dreyfus era, which was Milan Aleksic last summer. Though if Isidor keeps on scoring then Sunderland might not be the only team keen on a summer move, like Brown suggests.
The Black Cats would likely need to trigger the option to buy early as to avoid any unwanted competition in the race for Isidor’s signature. One huge boost for the Black Cats though is that Isidor clearly loves the club, and he’d surely prefer a move to the Stadium of Light over anywhere else.