Sunderland’s need for a new striker became very apparent during their win over Cardiff City.
It was old reliables Luke O’Nien and Jack Clarke that found the net as Sunderland claimed three points this weekend.
The Black Cats had opted to play Eliezer Mayenda up front after a promising pre-season campaign, but his failure to score one-on-one with the goalkeeper in the second half proved just why the club need a goalscorer in the team.
Sunderland’s pursuit of Alexandre Mendy seems to have hit a snag while it appears they could now look to the Premier League for the first time this summer.
The Wearside outfit brought in Mason Burstow from Chelsea last season, who failed to impress as he scored once.
That hasn’t put the Black Cats off though, with GiveMeSport reporting last month that Sunderland had enquired about Tottenham Hotspur’s Will Lankshear.
There had been more recent talk that Sunderland could now land the 19-year-old, but no concrete reports.
Sunderland have ‘registered an interest’ in Lankshear
Journalist Michael Graham has now issued an update on Lankshear.
He wrote on X: “Sunderland registered an interest in him early in the window. Like almost all Prem loans, though, it’s not really until the last couple weeks of the window when clubs let them go, so registering an interest was all it was. No idea if that interest has firmed up since.”
Lankshear has shown a lot of promise in Tottenham’s academy, scoring 25 goals in 26 games in all competitions last season.
The teenager is still waiting for his Spurs debut though and is yet to pick up a minute of senior football.
Will Lankshear be an upgrade on Mason Burstow?
Lankshear’s stats are much more impressive than Burstow’s were, but he does have even less senior experience than his fellow England youth international.
The youngster could be one worth taking a risk on given his form for the U23s, but Sunderland fans certainly won’t accept it if he is to be their number one choice up front.
Lankshear would be a quality signing if Sunderland are to also buy Mendy or another proven striker.
The Black Cats can then loan out Luis Hemir and Mayenda, while using Nazariy Rusyn as another back-up option alongside the Tottenham gem.