Sunderland played Newcastle United in an U21s fixture on Monday afternoon.
Sunderland‘s youngsters met with Newcastle United’s at the Academy of Light on Monday, in a game featuring several first-team players for the Black Cats.
Corry Evans was among those who played and he was among the scorers in a 3-2 win for Newcastle, as the Northern Irishman steps up his return to action after more than a year out.
Pierre Ekwah also featured, along with Bradley Dack and Mason Burstow who led the line up front, playing a full 90 minutes.
Sunderland striker woes
Burstow is one of two strikers currently available to Mike Dodds, after Nazariy Rusyn picked up an injury ahead of the Championship clash vs QPR.
Luis Hemir is the other available striker, though the Portuguese forward continues to come under criticism, with Nick Barnes saying the striker was too lethargic in the 0-0 draw vs QPR.
Rusyn, Burstow, and Hemir all joined last summer, but the trio have scored just three Championship goals between them this season.
Mason Burstow struggles to make an impact vs Newcastle United U21s
Burstow, 20, is on loan from Chelsea.
The former Charlton Athletic youngster has scored just once in 20 league appearances for Sunderland, having started four times in 2024 now, with the last being in the 4-2 defeat vs Southampton.
Burstow often leads the line on his own and he did so against Newcastle United U21s on Monday, but once again to no avail.
Sunderland Echo rated his performance 5/10, with journalist Joe Nicholson adding:
“Played the full match up front. Made a few searching runs off the ball but struggled to make a significant impact or really trouble Newcastle’s backline.”
Mike Dodds simply can’t start Burstow any more
Not only is Burstow not performing, and hasn’t been all season, but he’s not even Sunderland’s player.
Dodds shouldn’t expend Sunderland game time on a player who isn’t good enough and who won’t be here next season.
For Dodds though, it’s really not an easy situation.
The fact is that Burstow is one of only two fit strikers at the Stadium of Light and so he’s bound to get game time.
The argument would be to keep on starting Hemir despite his poor form and his apparent lack of intensity in games, or to opt for something completely different.
Jobe Bellingham might be the next man to come into the thinking for the striker spot, or perhaps Patrick Roberts when he eventually returns to action.
Bellingham might well be the preferred choice for when Sunderland return to action vs Cardiff City later this month as neither Hemir or Burstow offer anything meaningful right now.
But if Dodds opts for Bellingham then he at least knows he’ll get someone who’ll put in the yards and work the channels, and who also knows where the back of the net is; the 18-year-old has scored six goas in 37 Championship appearances this season.
As for Burstow, the summer ahead could be a very tricky one; he might struggle to get another Championship loan after this Sunderland spell, and he certainly won’t be coming into the thinking at Chelsea.