Struggling Sunderland striker tipped to be a 'huge asset'

It hasn't been an easy start at Sunderland for Luis Hemir, but Mike Dodds is certain his time will come.

Luis Hemir has worked himself back into contention at Sunderland, with Mike Dodds predicting the 20-year-old will be a ‘huge asset’ for the club in time.

Despite a strong showing in preseason, Hemir has struggled to make an impact at Sunderland since a summer move from Benfica.

The striker is still awaiting his first goal for the club and only has one start to his name too – the opening day defeat to Ipswich.

Former Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray 'getting stronger' after surgery

He has looked a lot sharper and quicker – and leaner – in recent cameos off the bench, though, and Dodds feels he is starting to get himself to a level where fans can expect to start seeing him play more minutes.

"He's definitely in the thinking, because we're going to have to utilise the squad across these three games and he is definitely pushing harder than he probably has done before," Dodds said of Hemir.

"First and foremost, he is just a lovely kid. He's come here because he wants to accelerate his career and he's got real pedigree at youth level.

“He's taken some time to adapt to life in England, he's a 20-year-old boy who has come over by himself having never left his own country. Sometimes, those boys just need a little bit of time.

“He's a wonderful finisher, he's still got to get fitter but he has improved on that and I think that's why you see the level of his performance improve in the recent games where he has come on. I think there's a definite correlation between him getting fitter and his performance level improving.

"There's a still a lot of a development in that area and I've had that conversation with him, but we think really, really highly of him as a footballer.

"He's going to be a huge asset for the football club and he will definitely be in the thinking for the next few games, definitely."#

Debut and tactical tweak? Predicted line-up as Sunderland try to cope without Jack Clarke

Sunderland contract situation: Who is nearing the end of their current deal?

Luke O'Nien and eight other Sunderland players who successfully changed positions

Jordan Willis and seven other Sunderland careers ruined by injury

Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham names two former Sunderland players as his heroes