Sunderland star Luke’O’Nien has delivered his verdict on under-fire striker Nazariy Rusyn.
Rusyn was signed on deadline day from Zorya Luhansk in his homeland of Ukraine, for what was officially an undisclosed fee.
However reports have suggested that the fee was around £2.5m, which is a substantial amount of money for a player who has a proven goal scoring record, albeit in worse leagues on paper.
O’Nien praises goalless striker
Speaking to the Sunderland Echo, O’Nien believes that Rusyn has done well so far, and that he is slowly coming out of his shell.
“He’s been really good. His personality is starting to come out in the group which is only going to help him on and off the pitch. The other lads as well, they are starting to stamp their mark on the team.”
Mowbray must keep faith in Rusyn
Tony Mowbray clearly needs to keep the faith with Rusyn, as his recent performances have shown how good he can be.
Rusyn played 61 minutes against Birmingham in the game just before the November international break, with SofaScore grading his performance an impressive 7.5/10 on the day
The former Ukraine under-21 international grabbed an assist and hit the woodwork which shows just how close he was to grabbing a goal.
He also won 50% of his duels and made two key passes in what was an all-round top performance.
He is arguably Sunderland’s best striker right now, with none of them scoring a goal so far this season. But Rusyn’s recent performances mean he should still be first in line up front, ahead of Mason Burstow and Luis Hemir Semedo.
After a bad day at the office for all involved against Plymouth, a first goal for the club could finally be on the cards when they host Huddersfield Town on Wednesday night.