Sunderland striker Aaron Connolly can tell anyone willing to listen about the relief the comes when finally opening your account after a tough start at a new club.
The Republic of Ireland international needed six Championship outings to belatedly open his account for the Black Cats.
And as Aaron Connolly fizzed a fine volley into Millwall’s net in late-November, that was a massive weight of the summer signing’s shoulders.
But Connolly’s six-game barren spell feels comparatively minuscule compared to the start Luis Hemir Semedo endured over in Italy.
Semedo joined Juventus on a loan to buy deal on deadline day in August. Of course, after 23 goalless appearances for Sunderland in England’s second tier last term, it almost goes without saying that Serie A challengers Juventus always planned to use 21-year-old Semedo for their reserve side in Italy’s third tier rather than, say, as a back up for £72 million man Dusan Vlahovic.
Still, a run of 13 games without hitting the target against the likes of Avellino, Picerno and Trapani did little to suggest that Juventus were about to tap into the sort of potential Semedo seldom displayed on Wearside.
Sunderland loanee Luis Semedo finally scores for Juventus
Was he cut out even for life in Serie C? The jury is still out, it’s fair to say. But this is a start, albeit a very belated one.
Semedo darted in behind the Trapani backline on Sunday before finally opening his account for Juve’s reserves with a run and finish Sunderland’s own Wilson Isidor would have been proud of.
The Lisbon-born frontman must have felt a wave of relief as the ball hit the back of the net, just as Connolly did when his well-taken volley whizzed past Lukas Jensen at The Den.
Of course, the Bianconeri will be hoping to see far more from Semedo – one goal in 14 matches, lest we forget – before triggering that option-to-buy clause in his contract. But football history is littered with strikers who needed to hit the net just once in order to cut loose and set their confidence flowing.
Former Benfica coach thinks Semedo has ‘a lot of potential’
Luis Castro, a coach who worked with Semedo back home in Portugal, has no doubts about the youngster’s ‘potential’.
Amid reports that Semedo could be joined at Juventus by another Benfica academy graduate in the £40 million-rated centre-half Antonio Silva, Castro is urging Semedo to add an extra layer of focus and professionalism as he aims to prove that a long-awaited first goal since 2022/23 is not just a false dawn.
“Semedo and Antonio are from the same generation. They are two excellent young players,” Castro tells Tutto Juve.
“Semedo has a lot of quality. A lot of potential. But he has to be more demanding with himself. I think he will mature a little later.
“He has everything a striker needs, from physical ability to technical quality, but he will have to understand that football does not last 48 hours and you need to always be 100 per cent every day to deserve a call-up to the first team.”
With Juventus retaining the option to send Semedo back to Sunderland, a return to the Black Cats squad in 2025 cannot be entirely ruled out at this stage.
In Regis Le Bris, Sunderland appear to finally have a manager capable of coaxing every ounce of promise out of the exciting array of prodigious talents making the Northeast their home.