This week, former England striker Jermain Defoe announced his retirement from football aged 39 after a second stint at Sunderland proved unsuccessful.
The Englishman rejoined the League One outfit on 1 February but started just a couple of League One matches this season, failing to score.
The Black Cats’ top scorer Ross Stewart was naturally going to be ahead of Defoe in the pecking order, with the Scotsman netting 22 goals so far this season; whilst the currently injured Nathan Broadhead, who is on loan from Everton, has also impressed this term by netting seven times.
However, with Alex Neil’s side still in contention for a play-off place in sixth, the Wearside outfit will need as many alternatives as possible in the attacking department to ensure that they give themselves the best possible chance of securing promotion.
Therefore, in order to fill the void left by Defoe, young striker Benji Kimpioka should be considered for more game-time.
Opportunity knocks
The 22-year-old Swede has been handed just two league appearances as a substitute in the first team this season but scored off the bench in the 5-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday in December, his last appearance for the senior side having made his debut in the 2018/19 campaign.
Since his most recent first-team outing, the Black Cats have seen a change in the dugout with Alex Neil replacing Lee Johnson as head coach, whilst Defoe also joined and left the Stadium of Light. It could be argued that the signing of the veteran striker held Neil back from including Kimpioka in his plans, with the 22-year-old last making the first-team squad on 22 January.
The Sweden under-21 international joined Sunderland’s under-18 setup in July 2016 from IK Sirius in his homeland, and in the past year he has been sent out on short-term loans to Torquay and Southend.
For the Wearsiders’ under-23s, Kimpioka has scored four goals and registered three assists in 11 Premier League 2 appearances whilst totalling 33 goals over his career to date at senior and youth level, suggesting that now could be the time for Neil to unleash the young striker.
Three years ago, Kimpioka was the subject of high praise from Sunderland youth coach Elliot Dickman, who said: “I think Benji has shown he is in and around the first-team squad and he obviously has been in some of the match-day squads, he’s trained a lot with the first team so he’s not far away from it.
“Benji is still young, he’s still got a lot to learn a lot to develop. I thought Sunday he did smashing up there by himself, leading the line and he’s making improvements all the time. As long as he continues to do that, that’s all we can ask for really.”Now could be the 22-year-old’s long-awaited opportunity to play in the first team on a regular basis, duly filling the void left by Defoe’s retirement.AND in other news, Left for £0, value soared 14,900%: Sunderland fumbled gem with a “wand of a left foot”…