Mason Burstow hasn’t been cutting it up front which is why Tony Mowbray needs play Nazariy Rusyn for Sunderland.
Sunderland‘s striking options have been poor this season and out of both options, there has been little success as neither have scored a goal.
Mason Barstow has been mainly the first choice with Ukrainian summer signing Nazariy Rusyn acting as the understudy.
This however flipped as Tony Mowbray started Rusyn last time out against Birmingham and there were encouraging signs which have left many expecting him to start once again.
With Barstow being given a substantial chunk of games to try and find a goal, the least Rusyn deserves is the same before a potential new forward is brought in during the January window.
Here’s three reasons Rusyn needs to start over Burstow against Plymouth…
Sunderland need to figure out if either are good enough
With Burstow unlikely to see success at the Stadium of Light given how many games he had without mustering up a goal.
Rusyn however hasn’t quite had the opportunity yet to show his ability which many believe is substantial.
The Ukrainian has been heralded as ‘excellent’ by former Sunderland ace Danny Collins, and we hope to see that excellence on show soon.
Rusyn showed positive signs against Birmingham
Rusyn played 61 minutes against Birmingham and SofaScore graded his performance an impressive 7.5/10.
He grabbed an assist and hit the woodwork which shows just how close he was to grabbing a goal.
He won 50% of his duels and made two key passes in what was an all-round top performance.
If he can grab a goal against Plymouth, he probably doesn’t look back and Burstow won’t have a chance at getting back into the team.
He was signed permanently, so should be prioritised
Sunderland signed 24-year-old Rusyn was signed on deadline day from Zorya Luhansk for what was officially an undisclosed fee.
However reports have suggested that the fee was around £2.5m, a substantial amount of money for a player who has a proven goalscoring record. Albeit in worse leagues on paper.
When he joined, Sporting Director Kristjaan Speakman said: “Nazariy is a player that we’ve been tracking for some time.” This alone should speak to the importance of him playing.