Sunderland are determined to make it another successful season under Regis Le Bris, but in the short term, the French coach has been frustrated by injuries to key personnel during the international break.
Dan Ballard is a brute of a centre-half, but there’s no guarantee that he will be fit for the return to Premier League action after picking up a hamstring injury with Northern Ireland.
Likewise, Brian Brobbey‘s muscular issue sustained against Germany last week will have all of Wearside sweating. The in-form striker is irreplaceable up top for the Black Cats, who lack the alternatives in the final third to maintain the same results.
Why Brobbey is irreplaceable for Sunderland
Last season, Brobbey was the man for Sunderland. He might have only scored seven times in the Premier League after joining from Ajax the previous summer, but the Dutchman was a force to be reckoned with in the final third, so important for Le Bris’ system.
He appears to have raised his game. A hat-trick against Manchester City before the international emphasises exactly why there is so much hype around the 24-year-old.
|
Brian Brobbey vs Man City |
|
|---|---|
|
Stats |
# |
|
Minutes played |
90′ |
|
Goals scored |
3 |
|
Touches |
36 |
|
Shots (on target) |
5 (4) |
|
Accurate passes |
15/18 (83%) |
|
Chances created |
1 |
|
Dribbles completed |
2/2 |
|
Ground duels won |
6/7 |
|
Aeriaol duels won |
4/5 |
Hailed for “putting in an absolute masterclass” against Arsenal the week before by Sky Sports presenter Dougie Critchley, there’s no question that Brobbey’s strength and physicality sets him apart from the rest. In Wilson Isidor, Sunderland have another strong striker, but Brobbey is on another level.
If he starts scoring with more consistency, there’s no doubt that the world will start taking note of his potential to lead the line for a club at the very top of the European pyramid.
Brobbey’s hamstring injury, the prognosis still undetermined, is deeply concerning, though, and Le Bris must be frustrated that his alternative options leave a lot to be desired.
Le Bris has a way of playing. He knows how to make his system click, and Brobbey and Isidor are the prototypical profiles to place at No. 9.
Therefore, it shouldn’t be any great surprise that the decision-makers are looking at a similar forward to add to the ranks in January.
Sunderland in talks to sign more clinical striker than Brobbey
Brobbey is a top forward, but he still hasn’t proven himself as a prolific goalscorer. Against Man City, he bagged a hat-trick, but he also blanked across four previous matches in the Premier League.
Le Bris is determined to bring in some competition, and according to TEAMtalk, Sunderland have joined Aston Villa in exploring a move for Athletico Paranaense’s Kevin Viveros. He’s one of the most prolific strikers in South America and as a result Athletico aren’t inclined to sell, and have priced their frontman at £35m.
Viveros, 26, has been described as a “beast” and a “monster” of a striker by manager Odair Hellmann, who also drew attention to his technical improvements over the past couple of seasons. It feels like now is the time for him to take the plunge and try his hand in the Premier League.
There’s certainly something Brobbey-esque about him. Not only did Viveros post 18 goals across 26 Brasileiro Serie A matches in 2026, finishing as the division’s top scorer, but he also won 4.2 duels per game, getting stuck in and using his meaty frame to overwhelm defenders.
Sound familiar? There’s no question that Viveros has the presence to make a real difference in the final third, adding another goalscoring dimension to an outfit whose success is built on hard work, organisation and coherence within the system – not so much expansive creativity.
Brobbey put on a clinic before the break, dismantling Man City’s expensive backline, but Viveros has shown that he is a more natural-born finisher. Even during Brobbey’s days with Ajax in the Netherlands, he was never a deadly goalscorer, scoring seven times in 2024/25, albeit far more prolific the year before, with 22 goals in all competitions.
Since Isidor has failed to demonstrate the kind of consistent goalscoring needed in the Premier League, often anonymous in the final third, Viveros could prove the perfect upgrade to challenge Brobbey for the star spot at the spearhead.
If his clinical shooting in Brazil translates seamlessly to life in the Premier League at the Stadium of Light, there’s every chance that Le Bris could have a new talisman for the next few years.