Sunderland ready to make late bid for “special” star

Sunderland will hope their February can start on a better note than how their January concluded with the Black Cats made to settle for an unsatisfactory 2-2 draw with bottom-of-the-table Plymouth Argyle.

Nathanael Ogbeta would break Sunderland hearts right at the death with a dramatic equaliser after efforts from Wilson Isidor and Trai Hume would see Regis Le Bris‘ men race into a slim 2-1 lead.

The Frenchman will want his side to be just that little more clinical ahead of some crunch clashes to come at the top of the Championship, with one new striker helping in that regard if he joins the Wearside ranks shortly.

Sunderland’s search for a striker

As per a report from journalist Graeme Bailey, Sunderland are ‘ready to make a bid’ to land the services of Southampton striker Cameron Archer, albeit with there set to be intense competition for his signature.

Indeed, Bailey states that both the Black Cats and Daniel Farke’s Leeds United are preparing loan-to-buy bids for the 23-year-old, with the table-toppers in ‘pole position’ to land the former Aston Villa youth product over Le Bris’ men.

But, with it being well documented how hungry Sunderland are to land a new centre-forward this window – with the likes of Emil Riis Jakobsen and Chuba Akpom linked heavily with a switch to the promotion hopefuls – the Wearside outfit presumably won’t just give in so Leeds can tie up a stress-free deal.

Losing out on Tom Cannon to Sheffield United will have left visible bruises on the end of the Black Cats too, with Archer an arguable upgrade on the ex-Stoke City loanee if he immediately hits the ground running at the Stadium of Light.

How Archer compares to Tom Cannon

After all, the 23-year-old has threatened to spark into life for Southampton this season even as Ivan Juric’s side sit at the bottom of the Premier League on a depressing six points.

He has a reasonable tally next to his name of five goals in all competitions, which included this stunner finding the back of the net against Liverpool in the EFL Cup to the amazement of the St Mary’s masses watching on.

In total, Archer has managed to pick up six goals in the Premier League despite being thrust into the deep end in both instances with the relegation-doomed Saints and basement club Sheffield United last campaign, whilst Cannon has never found the back of the net in the elite division from his own limited opportunities.

Moreover, the “special” – as he was once labelled by football pundit Danny Murphy – ace has been there and done that in the second tier in the past, with his spell under Michael Carrick’s tutelage at Middlesbrough sticking out.

Whilst Cannon has taken the Championship by storm with his blistering performances this season, the table above reinforces the idea that Archer would be an upgrade on the new Blades striker, with the 23-year-old helping himself to an outrageous 17 goal contributions when donning a Boro strip.

Cannon has two fewer strikes from three more games on the contrary, with Archer also willing to be more unselfish and play others into the contest away from the fox-in-the-box abilities of the 5 foot 11 forward, when glancing at his six assists next to the Irishman’s zero.

He could well end up terrorising more Championship defences if he does relocate to Sunderland before Monday’s deadline, with Le Bris potentially spoilt for choice up top between Wilson Isidor and the ex-Boro number ten, as the Black Cats go about adding in more statement buys to keep up the chase with the rest of the promotion pack.

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