With only one win from their last five Championship matches, Sunderland are starting to slide down the rankings in the second tier at a worrying pace.
Tony Mowbray’s Black Cats have slipped to ninth spot in the division after an unsatisfactory 1-1 draw with Millwall, three points shy of the coveted final playoff spot now occupied by Liam Rosenior’s patchy Hull City.
Not all hope is lost however, and with plenty more second-tier matches still to be played, Mowbray’s men could still well mount a surge back up the division to prove that they deserve to be in the reckoning for promotion this season.
The upcoming January transfer window could be crucial for Sunderland if they want to turn their fortunes around quickly, the Black Cats in dire need of a prolific striker to lead from the front and score pivotal goals to get more victories on the board.
Ali Al-Hamadi could well be the desired option to go after therefore, the Black Cats reigniting their interest in the AFC Wimbledon sharpshooter again who has been linked with a switch to the Stadium of Light previously.
Sunderland transfers latest
Sunderland have been reportedly interested in Al-Hamadi since October, the Sunderland Echo stating that scouts from the Stadium of Light had travelled to see the 21-year-old attacker play in the flesh.
The Black Cats haven’t been alone in their pursuit of the young Dons man however, with Blackburn Rovers and Derby County also keen on adding the 11-time Iraq international to their ranks according to TEAMTalk.
This could make for an interesting transfer battle in January subsequently, with interest in the Wimbledon forward looking like it will only intensify when the transfer window does reopen owing to Al-Hamadi’s blistering goalscoring form for the Dons showing no signs of stopping.
The stats that show why Al-Hamadi is a good fit for Sunderland
With Sunderland’s average age coming in at 22.3 – the Black Cats boasting the lowest average age for the league as a result – Al-Hamadi could be a great fit for the Stadium of Light as a raw 21-year-old striker still honing his craft.
Moreover, Al-Hamadi would excel playing in a team that is now renowned under Mowbray for wanting to play an easy-on-the-eye brand of football.
Scoring eight times this season in the league, Al-Hamadi can also provide for his teammates with slick play on the ball.
The 21-year-old has also helped himself to five assists this campaign, the Iraqi-born striker unselfish in helping his teammates get in on the act too.
It is, however, Al-Hamadi’s goalscoring prowess this season that will have alerted Sunderland to his services – football journalist Tom Williams on social media describing Al-Hamadi as an “absolute joke” this season in League Two going forward.
Mowbray will pray that if Sunderland do land Al-Hamadi in the transfer window, the 21-year-old can immediately hit the ground running making the hefty step-up to finally put an end to the striker issues plaguing Sunderland.
Adept at scoring with both feet this season – his numbers equally spread out with four scored using his left and four using his right – the current Dons striker would jump at the opportunity to sign for Sunderland and the potential of firing in even more goals wearing a brand-new Black Cats strip.
