Sunderland could supercharge Burstow with last-gasp move

Sunderland could supercharge Burstow with last-gasp move

• Mason Burstow finally scored his first goal for Sunderland, boosting his confidence and potentially solving the team’s striker issues.
• Sunderland is interested in signing Callum Styles from Barnsley, but there are hurdles in completing the deal before the transfer deadline.
• Styles has versatility and can play in multiple midfield positions, potentially replacing Alex Pritchard if he leaves. His introduction could revive Burstow’s goalscoring form.

Sunderland would have been ecstatic to put any talk about Michael Beale’s job security and Alex Pritchard’s future firmly to one side with an emphatic 3-1 win over Stoke City yesterday, with one surprise goalscorer understandably jubilant come full-time.

Mason Burstow finally broke his Black Cats goalscoring duck, finding the back of the net after 14 Sunderland games, whilst another figure in and out of Beale’s first team in Abdoullah Ba helped himself to a handful of assists and a goal in the confident victory.

Burstow could well be the answer to Sunderland’s striker woes as a result of this standout performance versus the Potters, supercharged and turned into a frequent goalscoring hero if Beale’s men can pull off a deal for this creative machine before deadline day.

Sunderland want to sign League One star

Sunderland have been interested in bringing Barnsley star Callum Styles to the Stadium of Light for some time now, with a new development suggesting that there could be many hurdles in the way to land the Hungary international this month.

Yorkshire Post journalist Leon Wobschall has stated in the last few days that there are many obstacles before a deal is forthcoming – Wobschall namely stating that the ‘structure of the deal’ is one of those stumbling blocks.

After The Northern Echo reported last week that the second-tier outfit were in ‘advanced talks’, Beale and Co will need to speed up a deal for Styles between now and the window slamming shut very soon.

Landing Styles could well get even more out of Burstow up top, the Chelsea loanee wanting more and more goals after finally bagging a cherished Black Cats strike alongside the Tykes’ main creative force.

How Styles fits into the Sunderland team

Styles could well slot into the Black Cats team in many different midfield positions, playing in an attacking midfield spot, in central midfield and even down the left wing this season for Neill Collins’ League One playoff hopefuls.

Amassing 13 goals and nine assists for Barnsley from 151 appearances to date, with 15 of those goals and assists coming from down the left-hand side, Styles could well push the likes of Jack Clarke all the way or even displace Ba on the opposing flank.

The majority of his goals and assists this campaign have come from the attacking midfield spot in the Tykes team however, meaning Beale could well even have a perfect replacement for Pritchard if he does leave off the back of his recent transfer request.

Styles’ goals/assists at Barnsley by position

Games played

Position played

Goals

Assists

62

Left midfield

8

7

35

Central midfield

0

1

17

Attacking midfield

2

1

14

Right midfield

1

0

Stats by Transfermarkt

An early season patch of golden form saw Styles score in back-to-back games from that attacking midfield role, even looping a strike over the Northampton Town goalkeeper’s head in late September after lackadaisical play out from the back from the Cobblers gifted Styles the opportunity to try the audacious.

Described as a “creative spark” by football journalist Josh Bunting when breaking through at Oakwell, Burstow will hope Styles’ introduction into the fold on Wearside awakens a prolific deadly goalscoring machine again out of the 20-year-old.

Bagging 11 goals for the Chelsea U23s to date – after learning the ropes at Charlton Athletic with six goals from 23 appearances – the summer recruit has found himself isolated as the lone striker and frustrated at his lack of goals when played prior to netting versus Stoke.

Only needing 21 touches to score on Saturday, Burstow will hope a clinical streak is coming for him with the £5.4k per week target putting opportunities on a plate for the 20-year-old if a deal finally gets over the line.