Roma outcast could be on the way to rescue Big Sam’s Sunderland
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With Swansea turning away all advances for Andre Ayew, Sunderland have been forced to turn elsewhere in their search for added creativity up front.
Sam Allardyce’s men are second-bottom in the Premier League with 16 games to go, and the former Bolton boss has made little secret of his desire to add extra potency to the Black Cats’ attack.
Big Sam has already added Jan Kirchhoff to his defensive roster, though a suspect debut in the 4-1 defeat at Tottenham last weekend may have Allardyce looking for other options already.
Despite scoring seven goals in wins over Aston Villa and Swansea, Sunderland remain somewhat lacklustre upfront when it comes to higher quality opponents and the 2/11 price with Ladbrokes on the Wearsiders to go down reflects their plight.
One potential forward who could come to Allardyce’s aid is Roma’s Seydou Doumbia.
The 28-year-old striker has been informed by his Italian employers to look elsewhere for first-team football, and spent the first half of this season on loan at CSKA Moscow.
Doumbia netted 11 times in 21 appearances with the Russian side, including against Manchester United in the Champions League.
The Ivory Coast international came to mainstream attention during a fruitful two-year spell with BSC Young Boys in Switzerland, firing a headline-grabbing 57 goals in just 78 appearances.
CSKA came calling in 2010, and a five-year spell yielded 84 strikes in 129 appearances, including a very impressive 17 in 22 European games.
Man City fans won’t be too keen should Doumbia make a return to English shores, having scored five times against the Citizens in the past, including both goals in a 2-1 Champions League win for Moscow at the Etihad last season.
A move to Roma followed in January 2014, but Doumbia has struggled to settle in the Italian capital and is now on the search for first-team football elsewhere.
His track record is plenty of evidence that the forward knows how to score, and with Jermain Defoe proving Sunderland’s only real goal-threat, he would doubtless by welcome on Wearside.
Black Cats fans may be hoping he arrives sooner, rather than later.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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