Despite overcoming Preston North End 2-0 last time out in the Championship, and Nazariy Rusyn finally breaking his goalscoring hoodoo for the club, Sunderland will be eager to recruit a new striker in January to help with their sustained promotion push.
The Black Cats long for their very own talismanic figure again up top akin to Adam Armstrong for Southampton or Sammie Szmodics for Blackburn Rovers firing in the goals for their promotion rivals, hopeful of striking gold this month and landing a new version of Ross Stewart.
Michael Beale will hope this potential addition can add considerable firepower to the attacking ranks, utilising the Scottish market once more – like Sunderland did with signing Stewart from Ross County previously – to unearth a new potent striker at EFL level.
Sunderland transfer latest – brand new Stewart
Ewen Cameron, host of the Big Scottish Football Podcast, has relayed reports that the Black Cats could well be in for Hearts sharp shooter Lawrence Shankland this month but the Championship promotion hopefuls won’t be a lone suitor going after the on-fire Scotsman.
Fellow Scottish Premiership outfit Rangers have also put their hat into the ring about a potential deal according to reports, whilst TEAMTalk back last summer suggested that Southampton were also keen on landing Shankland as an alternative striker option and a deal could be back on the table this January.
Scoring goals by the bucket load in his native Scotland, the prolific Hearts forward – who was touted for a £4m move to Saudi Arabia over the summer – could well now believe the time is right for a move away from the comforts of Tynecastle to test himself in a more challenging division such as the Championship in uncharted territory.
Sunderland will hope they can land the 28-year-old before the close of the transfer window, hoping that history repeats itself and Shankland proves to be a blinder for the Black Cats, reminiscent of Stewart’s rich goalscoring exploits on Wearside.
The stats that show Lawrence Shankland would be a good signing for Sunderland
The obvious reason why Shankland would be a perfect fit for Sunderland currently is his potency in front of goal, Sunderland in desperate need of an ice-cold finisher in their ranks away from the misfiring crop currently at Beale’s disposal.
The Hearts captain has bagged a ridiculous 18 goals in all competitions this season for his Edinburgh-based employers, with 13 of those coming in league action to make him the top scorer in the Scottish Premiership to date.
Top scorers in the SPL – 23/24 | |
|---|---|
Player | Goals |
Lawrence Shankland – Hearts | 13 |
Matt O’Riley – Celtic | 10 |
James Tavernier – Rangers | 10 |
Abdallah Sima – Rangers | 10 |
Bojan Mivoski – Aberdeen | 9 |
Stats from Transfermarkt | |
In contrast, the campaign before Stewart embarked on a new adventure with the Black Cats, the current Saints man only bagged six in all competitions for Ross County, before going on to net 40 goals in just 80 games at the Stadium of Light.
Shankland’s continued heroics for Hearts have seen him described as “different class” by journalist Joel Sked, who praised the attacker’s overall game away from just being a deadly poacher too – “so much more to his game than goals”.
The likes of Jack Clarke and Alex Pritchard could well have a field day on Shankland’s arrival to the Stadium of Light therefore, teeing up the clinical Scotland international with countless opportunities in big games to help the 28-year-old become a feared EFL striker.
Averaging 3.6 shots per game this campaign – as per Sofascore – the 6 foot 1 attacker is far more lively and unafraid to try and catch goalkeepers out away from the sheepish forwards at Sunderland currently in Rusyn, Mason Burstow and more.
It feels like a no-brainer for the Black Cats to go after Shankland therefore this month, hoping that they can replicate the past success of Stewart with the Hearts sharpshooter in the present,
He may just be the missing piece of the puzzle for Beale and his side in their hunt for promotion.
