Sunderland will be expected to battle hard for a proven striker this summer.
It has been 18 months since Sunderland lost Ross Stewart to injury, and almost a year since he went onto join Southampton.
The Black Cats are yet to replace the Scot and instead signed Joe Gelhardt, Nazariy Rusyn, Eliezer Mayenda, Luis Hemir Semedo and Maston Burstow – with a combined total of one goal in the Championship prior to their arrivals.
Sunderland were punished last season for their lack of goalscorers and are surely set to bring in a more experienced forward this time round.
However, with Burstow returning to Chelsea and Mayenda and Hemir far from ready for senior football, Sunderland have continued searching for new prospects.
The Black Cats have had great success poaching from the Premier League, in particular West Ham.
Reports have now claimed they are frontrunners to sign Divin Mubama, who has made 13 appearances for the Irons’ senior team.
Mubama has rejected a new contract at West Ham and is looking for a new club, but Sunderland will face plenty of competition for his signature.
The Wearside outfit should continue looking to the Premier League rather than abroad though, with plenty of promising young strikers likely to be available.
Here are three Premier League strikers they could sign…
Three Divin Mubama alternatives for Sunderland to sign
Deivid Washington
Deivid Washington joined Chelsea from Santos in a £17.1 million deal last summer.
The teenager is tipped to become a future star at Stamford Bridge and has been impressing for the U21s, netting six goals and providing two assists in eleven games in Premier League 2.
Washington also made his senior debut in a 2-0 defeat to Brentford in October, before making another cameo in their 6-0 thrashing of Everton six months later. The 18-year-old has also been named on the bench a further 17 times.
Sunderland could look to add a bit of Brazilian flair to their frontline, though they will be wary after the failure of Mason Burstow at the Stadium of Light.
Nathan Fraser
Nathan Fraser has become up through the academy at Wolves and first began training with the senior team during the 2022-23 season.
He made his debut in August in the Carabao Cup win over Blackpool, where he scored his first senior goal. He then went onto score his first FA Cup goal in a 3-2 win over Brentford earlier this year.
Fraser made his Premier League debut weeks later and earned his first start in March. He has now racked up eleven appearances for the first team.
The ‘excellent‘ 19-year-old was linked with a loan move away in January but it never materialised, so they could instead look to let him leave this summer.
Liam Delap
Liam Delap is a Premier League player who already has plenty of Championship experience, having been on loan at Stoke City, Preston and Hull.
The striker didn’t have great success at the former two, but he did net eight goals and provide two assists in 26 starts for the Tigers.
Hull are said to be in talks with Man City over another deal for Delap, but it could be a move that Sunderland could consider hijacking.