Sunderland's recent woes have only gotten worse off the back of a major injury development, with Black Cats star Jack Clarke expected to be sidelined for six weeks owing to an ankle ligament issue.
Clarke was absent from interim manager Mike Dodds' first game back in the Stadium of Light hot-seat, the former Tottenham Hotspur man's presence missed as Sunderland succumbed to a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Swansea City.
This injury niggle could well be the final nail in the coffin for the club's distant Championship promotion hopes, with Dodds scrambling around now as to who could fit into his XI to fill the gap left behind by the injury-stricken 23-year-old.
The temporary boss would love to have one former Sunderland wonderkid at his disposal if he could, the player in question going on to mend his stuttering career after leaving Wearside behind in 2018.
Joel Asoro's time at Sunderland
Once a target for the likes of Juventus and Manchester City as a 16-year-old, Sunderland would surprisingly win the services of Swedish hot prospect Joel Asoro back in 2015 at the expense of those footballing giants.
Described as being "dangerous" by agent Hasan Cetinkaya when speaking to SportBladeT around the time of his move to England, the future was predicted to be bright for Asoro on Wearside.
Unfortunately, all the outlandish hype surrounding Asoro's name – which saw him even described as being one of "Sweden's greatest talents" despite still being a teenager – would work against him when making the step up to play for Sunderland away from the comforts of Scandinavia.
He would net an unsatisfactory three goals for the Sunderland senior side from 33 games in total, before being pushed out the door to Swansea just three years after joining as a highly regarded starlet.
However, fast forwarding to the present, Asoro could a job in the Black Cats' first team ranks with the 24-year-old now standing out in France for FC Metz.
Blast from the Past
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The dynamic attacker might not be anywhere near the levels of Clarke, but Dodds wouldn't turn his nose up at the attacker coming into any of his potential starting elevens to add more creativity and firepower to his struggling side up top.
What Asoro has done since leaving Sunderland
The Swedish forward has gone on to have a nomadic career since failing to make the grade at Sunderland, playing in the Netherlands, Italy and back in his native Sweden before relocating to France with Metz last year.
The 24-year-old has helped himself to two goals and two assists this season in the French top division, which included a winner against RC Lens in September last year in a narrow 1-0 victory.
Season
Games played
Goals
Assists
2023-24
19
2
2
2022-23
35
11
6
2021-22
31
6
5
2020-21
29
3
0
2019-20
23
4
2
2018-19
20
0
2
Turning around his fortunes since waving Wearside goodbye, Asoro would be a useful utility figure for the Black Cats at this present moment in time – the ex-Sunderland wonderkid adept at playing down both the right and left-wing, on top of playing in a centre-forward role if needs must.
Dodds would attempt to shoehorn Asoro into Clarke's vacant spot if he could, hoping that the 5 foot 9 attacker would dazzle second-tier defences on his return to the Stadium of Light.
Asoro would also enable Sunderland to have another option to call upon in the lone striker spot, with Dodds less than convinced by the likes of Mason Burstow and Nazariy Rusyn who remain goal-shy for the fading promotion candidates – the weak attacking duo still only boasting three Championship goals between them.
Maturing away from the intense spotlight of the Stadium of Light, Asoro will now feel harshly done by Sunderland ditching him when they did.
Regardless, the Black Cats will just have to press on and hope they can get out of their current sticky patch of form without Clarke's vital presence.