After being knocked out of the FA Cup this Saturday at the hands of Stoke City, Regis Le Bris’ Sunderland sole focus now rests on achieving promotion out of the Championship.
Before this slim 2-1 defeat at the Stadium of Light, the Black Cats had a 100% win record in-tact for January with two league victories on the spin, having got the better of fellow promotion rivals Sheffield United on their own patch before exiting the cup.
Now, it’s all about the Wearside outfit bouncing back in the league, with Sunderland only two points off the coveted automatic promotion spots in the taxing division.
To help in their bid to surge up the table, Sunderland are now attempting to land a clinical EFL goalscorer.
Sunderland looking at signing EFL forward
As per football journalist Alan Nixon via his Patreon, Le Bris’ men are now deep in a race for Stoke loanee Tom Cannon’s signature this January, with a growing likelihood that the 22-year-old striker could be sent out on loan away from the Potters.
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Currently on loan from parent club Leicester City, Sunderland will pray that they are the lucky party that get to snap up Cannon at the expense of other interested sides, with Nixon naming Sheffield United as another suitor looking at the Republic of Ireland international.
Why Tom Cannon would be a good signing for Sunderland
Having proved himself at Preston North End prior to his switch to Staffordshire, it will be intriguing to see how this transfer saga plays out, with Sunderland no doubt wanting to play the 5 foot 11 centre-forward up top over Wilson Isidor.
Moreover, Eliezer Mayenda could come out of his shell even more when linking up with the potent 22-year-old, having been a revelation in attack this January so far.
Whilst Isidor has been a reliable source of goals up top for Le Bris’ side this season, with eight league strikes fired home, fresh blood in the form of Cannon would likely get the nod to lead the line over the Frenchman.
After all, the current Stoke hero has one more strike in league action when weighed up next to the Zenit St. Petersburg loanee, with a solitary assist also next to his name in the Championship this season pushing him slightly ahead of Isidor.
Interestingly, the heavily sought-after forward has proven to be the difference maker in two games this season between Stoke and Sunderland, with the aforementioned cup exit for the Black Cats sealed by Cannon’s 11th goal in all competitions for 2024/25.
If Cannon were to up and leave Stoke for another loan side in the Black Cats, he might well strike up a wonderful partnership with Eliezier Mayenda in those new surroundings, with the 19-year-old prospect discovering his Sunderland mojo as an attacking midfielder in recent games.
Minutes played
90
89
Goals scored
1
0
Assists
1
1
Touches
29
23
Shots
5
4
Key passes
3
2
As has been seen this January in league action, Mayenda can just suddenly explode into life for Le Bris’ side at a moment’s notice, with only 52 touches accumulated versus both Sheffield United and Portsmouth, but three goal contributions came the Spaniard’s way regardless.
Cannon operates in much a similar way in terms of having a lethal edge in his game, with his strike against Sunderland last time out coming from just 19 touches of ball, meaning both Mayenda and the 22-year-old could be very dangerous together for Championship defences to contain.
Labelled as an “outstanding” striker last season by former Hull City manager Liam Rosenior, Cannon only looks to be getting better and better in the here and now, with Sunderland’s promotion chances massively boosted by this standout capture occurring this month.
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ByStephan Georgiou