Sunderland should turn to Ligue 1 to sign their new attacking talent in the summer window.
Sunderland have been really lacking in creativity and goals this season, with Jack Clarke proving to be the only one capable of finding the net.
With the winger extremely likely to move to the Premier League at the end of the campaign, the Black Cats’ options in attack are looking painfully concerning.
Romaine Mundle is far from able to fill Clarke’s boots for now, while the likes of Abdoullah Ba and Jewison Bennette unlikely to retain regular places in the starting line-up next season – or so fans will hope.
While Jobe Bellingham arrived with bags of potential and could still be a very important player in the near future, we need to learn from our mistakes this term and not completely rely on him week in week out.
Sunderland’s problems in front of goal certainly won’t be solved in that number nine position, and they need to start looking for fresh creative options all across the pitch.
While the Wearside outfit will look to invest the Clarke fee on a new left winger, they still need to bring in some talent to replace Amad Diallo – a year on from his exit.
One player who could bring some magic to the Stadium of Light is Karamoko Dembele.
The name is one that many supporters will already know, as he went viral for making his Celtic U20s debut at only 13 years old.
A magnificent career was expected for Dembele – making his senior debut at 16 years old, as well as being named by L’Equipe as one of six ‘outstanding young players set to revolutionise the game’. He was also once dubbed as the ‘next Lionel Messi’, so it was believed that the Scottish giants had a real gem on their books.
However, the attacker went onto make only nine appearances for Celtic before he was released in 2022, going onto join Ligue 1 side Brest.
Dembele failed to score or assist in the 2022-23 season and was eventually loaned out to Blackpool last summer.
The 21-year-old has now found his feet back in the UK and has bagged a whopping six goals and 10 assists for the Seasiders, with the likes of Dion Dublin and Neil Lennon heaping praise on him this season.
Dembele has made the most successful dribbles in the Blackpool squad (39), the most key passes (60) and the fourth-most shots (36), helping guide Neil Critchley’s side to within three points of the play-offs.
Karamoko Dembele is already wanted in the Premier League
The former England youth international has reportedly already attracted interest from Premier League clubs such as Everton and Nottingham Forest, while the likes of Leeds United and Southampton are also monitoring his progress.
Brest could well look to cash in on Dembele this summer and it is unclear how much he will cost, but Sunderland could do much worse than to throw their name in the hat.
Dembele mainly plays as an attacking midfielder and could make up that Amad role, offering creativity, pace and trickery, whilst also teaming up with Patrick Roberts – something that the winger had certainly been missing after Amad’s return to Old Trafford.
The Black Cats would face plenty of competition for his signature, but Dembele could favour regular first team football over the giant leap to the Premier League. Given his potential at Celtic and has dramatic fall from grace, you would assume he would want to be sensible with the path he was taking.
Sunderland are likely to make plenty of cash on some key player’s departures this summer and Dembele could be one player who helps rejuvenate the club after a disastrous campaign.