Sunderland have been told they can’t ‘give up’ on one of their out-of-form attackers.
After playing some beautiful football and creating many wonderfully worked goals last season, it is underwhelming to see Sunderland struggle in front of goal so much this time round.
The Black Cats are heavily relying on Jack Clarke this term, with the winger netting 12 goals in 26 games in the Championship.
Players across the pitch have chipped in so far, but the rest of Sunderland’s attack have only managed three goals between them – two for Abdoullah Ba and one for Nazariy Rusyn.
The Frenchman looked set for a positive season when he netted twice in five games last year, however things only seem to have gone downhill since.
Ba has earned himself more action under both Mike Dodds and Michael Beale, with the attacker starting four of the last eight games.
The 20-year-old’s regular presence in the team has frustrated fans though, with Ba being labelled ‘woeful’ and ‘especially awful’ over the last month or so.
After a Sunderland fan took to X (formerly Twitter) to criticise the ‘constant slander’ of Ba, journalist Michael Graham leaped to his defence.
He wrote: “Ba is a really talented player. Frustrating as hell, but really talented. He’s like a child who drives you mad: infuriating but you don’t give up on them.”
What to do with Abdoullah Ba?
Abdoullah Ba has shown glimpses of talent since joining from Le Havre in 2022, but he has always looked extremely raw and far from the standard required in the Championship.
I also think he has always looked so much better when pushed into the middle, as he seems completely lost and unsure of himself when out wide.
There is definitely some talent in there and Michael Beale must be seeing something in training, but I can’t believe he wants him in a match and genuinely thinks he is good enough.
Ba is only forced to play because we have no squad depth in attack. If we brought in some more creative options then I would have no problem with the France U19 international being sent out on loan to League One.
The same is to be said about Jewison Bennette, who has managed only one minute of Championship football this season.
It’s almost like we shouldn’t have signed a load of young players that weren’t ready to challenge for a place in the first team. Funny that.