Sunderland has prioritized acquiring a new striker during this transfer window.
Michael Beale wants to sign a proven goalscorer in the Championship who can help fire them into the play-offs.
Actually, ever since Ross Stewart left for Southampton in the summer, the Black Cats have had trouble scoring goals in the center of the field.
Beale is left with a trio that has struggled to hit the net despite Tony Mowbray’s deliberate efforts to replace that hole by buying players like Mason Burstow, Nazariy Rusyn, and Luis Hemir Semedo. The money wasn’t spent properly.
Rusyn is the only striker that Sunderland has scored with from their summer additions, but even his goal in the 2-0 victory over Preston wasn’t enough to persuade Beale that they have enough firepower.
In fact, a number of strikers on loan have been linked to the Wearsiders, including Kieffer Moore of Bournemouth, but he has drawn a lot of Championship competition.
Another player that has come up on their radar is forward Sam Gallagher of Blackburn Rovers.
His 48 goals in 246 games in the second division should make him simpler to sign than Moore, but that won’t exactly convince anyone that he’s the guy to propel Sunderland to promotion.
Instead, Beale should be looking at Burnley striker Michael Obafemi, who would be a far better alternative than the 28-year-old.
Why Sunderland should sign Michael Obafemi over Sam Gallagher
Journalist Darren Witcoop claims that Obafemi might leave Turf Moor on loan this month and that any Championship team would be wise to sign him.
Writing on X (formerly Twitter), he said: “Michael Obafembi could be on the move this month. One to keep an eye on. The Irishman suffered an injury hit start to the season at Burnley. The ex-Swansea striker would be a good pick up for a Championship club seeking firepower.”
With this in mind, Sunderland should be one of the clubs queuing up to take the Republic of Ireland international on loan.
A more clinical forward than Gallagher with a respectable 40 goals in 100 appearances at senior and youth level, as per Transfermarkt, Obafemi has proven he knows where the back of the net is.
During his time at Swansea City, he plundered 13 goals in 32 appearances in the 2021/22 Championship campaign.
By contrast, Gallagher’s best season in his career was an 11-goal haul achieved in 2016/17 at Blackburn.
Aside from having the edge in terms of scoring, Obafemi also has better all-round game than his counterpart, linking up play with his tidy passing and using his low-centre of gravity to weave in and out of defenders.
For example, the Rovers man only averaged a pass completion of 55% last term and completed just 26% of his dribbles successfully, as per Sofascore.
In that 2021/22 campaign when he was on fire with the Swans, meanwhile, Obafemi notched up an 83% pass completion and recorded 50% of his dribbles, which displays he’s better at bringing his team mates into play and causing a threat in-behind.
Once lauded for his “unbelievable pace” by former manager Mark Hughes at Southampton, the 23-year-old can complement the Sunderland attack by using his blistering speed on the counter.
