- Eliezer Mayenda close to Sunderland bow
Sunderland striker tipped for impact: 'He's ‘dynamic and fast with a wand of a left foot’
Tony Mowbray has again talked up Sunderland striker Eliezer Mayenda, describing the Spaniard as a ‘dynamic and fast with a wand of a left foot.’
Mayenda signed for Sunderland for around £800,000 from French side Sochaux but is yet to feature for the club due to injury.
None of Sunderland other strikers – Mason Burstow, Luis Hemir and Nazariy Rusyn – have managed to score yet this season, so there is little question that the Black Cats could do with some cutting edge at the top end of the pitch.
Mowbray thinks Mayenda could be the man to provide it, although he has also cautioned that the Championship could be a big step-up initially for the 18-year-old.
"He's training really well, he's a lovely guy who wants to ask questions and get better - and he keeps hitting the back of the net in the training,” Mowbray said.
"As coaching staff we're looking forward to seeing him out there but what we don't know is how quickly he'll get up to the intensity of the Championship.
“It's OK playing in training games but it's also about how you cope with me screaming at him to get back and chase the opposition full back! He has to be able to do that as well.
"But he's very talented, and he's got a wand of a left foot with real power in it. He's very dynamic, quick, fast.
“There's nothing stopping him being a really good player and hopefully he can put that onto the pitch at first-team level."
Will Eliezer Mayenda make Sunderland debut against Birmingham?
It’s fair to say that there is a lot of intrigue around Eliezer Mayenda from Sunderland fans. He was arguably the biggest unknown in terms of summer signings and he then immediately injured his hamstring in his very first training session.
Since then two things have regularly happened: Tony Mowbray has built him up in the press by talking about how good he looks in training and he his inclusion on the teamsheet has been teased yet delayed.
The good news is that Mowbray appears more confident that ever that the Spaniard will be able to play a part against Birmingham – but he has warned it won’t be a big one.
"I think there's every chance he'll be on the bench this weekend," Mowbray told reporters.
"It'll be a cameo role if he does come on, he's still only played one ninety minutes against Hibernian behind closed doors. He hasn't played much so we'll have to be careful.
“He's going to play in a bounce game next Wednesday, he'll play in that regardless of whether he gets minutes this weekend because we need to get him playing.”
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