Why Ashley Fletcher is not the man to keep Sunderland up
Things are looking exceptionally bleak on Wearside at the minute, after Tuesday’s 3-0 home defeat against Aston Villa the Black Cats are four points from safety.
The main problem for Sunderland this season has been goals.
After Lewis Grabban who isn’t even at the club anymore with 12 goals only one other player has scored more than five goals and that’s Aiden McGeady with six.
Chris Coleman took a massive gamble in January.
After Lewis Grabban requested that his parent club Bournemouth cut short his loan deal at the club, Sunderland were left without an experienced striker.
Coleman took a gamble on Middlesbrough striker Ashely Fletcher, the former West Ham striker who Boro signed for £6.5 million last summer has failed to make an impact on Teesside in his short time there, scoring just once in an EFL cup win back in August.
It surprises me that a man of Chris Coleman’s managerial experience took a gamble on someone like Fletcher who has scored just six leagues in his career.
Tuesday was a prime example of this, Fletcher had a golden opportunity to put Sunderland in front but failed to find the back of the net, and moments later Grabban returned to haunt his former employers putting Villa on course for a 3-0 win.
It seems strange when someone like Benik Afobe was available that Sunderland didn’t attempt to make a move for him.
It’s possible that Afobe would have rejected a move to Sunderland however the fact Sunderland didn’t even try to sign him is odd.
Fletcher in his entire career has scored just 12 goals in his entire career, nine of these came in one season at Barnsley.
I’ve spoke to numerous Boro fans who questioned why the club payed £6.5 million for a player who simply wasn’t proven at Championship level.
So, if this is the case then why after such a poor half season with Boro did Chris Coleman look at Fletcher and think he was the man to drag Sunderland out this slumber they’re currently in.
The only benefit we’ve seen from the poor form is Ashley Fletcher is the rise of Joel Asoro, the Swedish youngster has emerged as a starlet this season.
Premier clubs Arsenal and Watford as well as French giants are reportedly touting Asoro, and if Sunderland continue in their current slump and are indeed relegated down to league one, it would be very difficult for Sunderland to keep hold of a talented asset like Asoro who could pull in a decent fee from potential suitors.
Credit to The Chronicle and The Sun for the imagery used in this article.