The stadium of Light sign at the Sky Bet Championship match at the Stadium of Light, Sunderland
Sunderland: Stewart masterclass could be repeated with Mayenda
Sochaux striker Eliezer Mayenda may be far from prolific, but the same was true of Ross Stewart when he arrived at Sunderland.
Sunderland’s search for a new striker has gone continental as the Championship side have reportedly targeted a move for Sochaux striker Eliezer Mayenda.
What players have Sunderland signed this summer?
The Black Cats were quick off the mark in bringing in a quartet of players each aged 20 or under, as centre-backs Nectarios Triantis and Jenson Seelt, attacking midfielder Jobe Bellingham and striker Luis ‘Hemir’ Semedo all arrived last month.
Manager Tony Mowbray has made clear he is after another goalscorer ahead of the new campaign, though, having seen Amad Diallo return to parent club Manchester United, while Ross Stewart will not be fit enough for the start of the season.
That effectively leaves the untested Hemir, who did not play any minutes at senior level for Benfica, as Mowbray’s only real recognised centre-forward to start against Ipswich Town on August 6.
The Wearside outfit were priced out of a move for Ellis Simms, who starred on loan at the Stadium of Light in the first half of last season, and they are also reported to have missed out on Rijeka’s Matija Frigan.
However, French publication Foot Mercato suggests Sunderland are very interested in signing Mayenda, who made the breakthrough at Sochaux in Ligue 2 last season.
Who is Sochaux striker Eliezer Mayenda?
Mayenda has been capped once by Spain at U17 level, but it is in France he has learned his trade. The 18-year-old came through Sochaux’s academy and played 15 times in the French second tier last season, scoring once.
That goal return is pretty underwhelming on the face of it, but he only played 292 minutes – as per FBref – which is the equivalent of a little over three full matches.
Indeed, his goal return of 0.31 every 90 minutes was bettered only by three Sunderland regulars in the Championship last season, though the teenage talent’s sample size is of course a lot smaller.
While clearly a player of high potential, talk of Sunderland signing Mayenda may not exactly get supporters’ pulses racing.
However, the same was very much true when the Black Cats signed Stewart from Ross County in January 2021. The Scotsman was far from a prolific scorer at that stage, having netted just 15 times in two-and-a-half seasons with the Staggies.
That return included just two goals in 19 appearances in the first half of the 2020-21 Scottish Premiership season, and he would net only two times in 11 League One outings upon joining Sunderland.
But Stewart truly kick-started his career in 2021-22 when scoring 24 times in 46 games to fire Sunderland to Championship promotion. The 26-year-picked up from where he left off last season by scoring 10 and assisting three in 13 games, before being struck down by a season-ending Achilles injury in January.
That team-high return of 0.86 goals or assists per 90 minutes – Simms was next highest with 0.56, for perspective – will be tough for Stewart to match once he is back up and running for Mowbray’s side.
Mayenda also cannot be expected to score and assist at that rate should he join, but Sunderland clearly see something in the 5 foot 11 youngster, who could well become the Black Cats’ latest transfer success story.
