Sunderland will travel to Burnley tomorrow night in the Championship hopeful that they can pick up another positive result against one of the promotion pack, having temporarily dented Sheffield United’s confidence on New Year’s Day with a 2-1 win.
Picking up said victory would allow the Black Cats to move into the top two positions in the league before the rest of the teams then play catch up at the weekend, as Regis Le Bris continues to pray that his side are made of stern stuff for the tense promotion battle that awaits.
He wouldn’t say no to a number of new recruits entering the building this January to help take his team to the next level in the taxing division, with Tom Cannon continuing to stick out as a number one target.
Sunderland's pursuit of Tom Cannon
It’s no secret at this point in time that Sunderland are locked into a battle to try and snap up Cannon this January, with a whopping £13m bid reportedly put forward to Leicester City.
Sheffield United are also involved in this much-talked-about tussle, with the Republic of Ireland international helping himself to a healthy nine goals in the Championship this season on loan with Stoke City, before the Foxes recalled their player in an effort to move on him permanently.
Instead of fighting it out intensely for the services of the expensive attacker all window long, the Black Cats could be preparing to move their focus towards another gem who has been lighting up his own division much like Cannon.
If the player in question was to settle in well after a January switch to the Stadium of Light, it could well be a repeat of Wilson Isidor’s successful move, who has managed to get up to speed with the English game at a rapid pace.
Sunderland's potential Tom Cannon alternative
The new Black Cats target comes in the form of KVC Westerlo star Matija Frigan, with Sunderland’s interest in the Croat coming from journalist Michael Graham earlier this month via his X account.
Whilst this might not be as jaw-dropping as snapping up Cannon, Sunderland could reportedly win the standout 21-year-old’s signature for a fee around the £4.6m mark according to Dutch publication Voetbal Nieuws, which is what Westerlo paid for the youngster’s services when he left his native Croatia behind in 2023.
This season for Westerlo, the 21-year-old has helped himself to six strikes from 20 league encounters, which included a coolly taken strike back in November when Frigan emphatically fired home on a counterattack.
Whilst these aren’t overly mind-blowing numbers, when you consider Cannon had tallied up three more goals in the hustle and bustle of the Championship, Isidor also entered the English game off the back of some mediocre performances at Zenit St. Petersburg only to now be Sunderland’s leading goalscorer in the division.
Westerlo
53
12
HNK Rijeka
32
15
NK Orijent 1919
15
4
HRV Dragovoljac
15
3
Indeed, the Frenchman had only mustered up an unsatisfactory four goals when on the books of Zenit, with Frigan at least able to boast more impressive numbers when glancing at the table above.
Whilst a move not getting done for Cannon would annoy the Sunderland masses, especially if promotion rivals Sheffield United were to swoop in and win the clinical Irishman, this signing also feels more in-keeping with the Black Cats’ philosophy of buying young, raw gems in an effort to mould them into unbelievable stars.
It remains to be seen whether the ex-Preston North End man will call Wearside home before the chaotic window shuts, but if this move is proving too difficult to finalise, Sunderland might well set their sights on Belgium to land this exciting buy.
Sunderland could land a more exciting deal than Le Fee in "outstanding" ace
Sunderland could really lay down a marker in the Championship by snapping up this exciting star.
ByKelan SarsonJan 15, 2025
