Mason Burstow’s loan spell at Sunderland has turned into a nightmare but Black Cats boss Michael Beale insists he has not been involved in any discussions over an early return to Chelsea for the striker. Burstow joined Sunderland on deadline day on a season-long deal, despite apparent interest from Italian giants AC Milan, but has struggled at Championship level and has failed to find the net.
He made half-a-dozen starts in September and October but since then he has become a bit-part player, making only two subsequent starts and four outings from the bench. Burstow is not Sunderland’s only flop in front of goal, with fellow summer striker signings Nazariy Rusyn, Luis Hemir, and Eliezer Mayenda also yet to get off the mark.
The situation is summed up by the fact that more recently three different head coaches – Tony Mowbray, interim boss Mike Dodds, and now Beale – have preferred attacking midfielders such as Jobe Bellingham, Alex Pritchard, Bradley Dack, or Abdoullah Ba as forwards. With Burstow getting only sporadic gametime, there is a possibility that Chelsea may recall him in January – although FIFA rules mean a player can only play for two clubs in a single season and, as Burstow has already represented Chelsea and Sunderland, he could not be sent elsewhere on loan with a view to getting more minutes so it would only make sense if the Blues were going to use him themselves.
“I haven’t had that discussion [about Burstow’s future], I’ve just come in and I’m having a look at these players,” said Beale, whose Sunderland side takes on Preston North End at the Stadium of Light this lunchtime. “I gave Mason a go [from the bench at Rotherham], I gave young Eliezer a go off the bench against Coventry City last week.
“I’m looking at the boys in the training, it’s my first time working with them and it’s been spoken about enough that the strikers we brought in haven’t scored yet. I’m looking and seeing and we’ll assess as the window opens what it is that we’ll do, but my focus at the moment is working with them in training, getting them in front of the goal and scoring.
“There’s a lot of work going on in the background with these strikers and I think it’s clear that as a team, that we need to convert our possession into more shots and then more goals. Before coming in I think we had the highest expected-goals in the league but that only matters if you’re putting that on the scoreboard.
“I want the ball to go in the back of the net, as the away team at Rotherham we had real difficulties in the game and yet we still managed to have 70 percent possession. I’m expecting us to work the goalkeeper more than we did and take some of the burden off Jack [Clarke]. At the moment, he’s on fire and long may that continue.”
Clarke is Sunderland’s 12-goal top scorer, with his deflected goal at Rotherham on Friday night salvaging a point for the Black Cats. Sunderland’s lack of goals from strikers could see the club dip back into the transfer market now that the January window has opened.
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