After failing in their attempt to sign Fabio Borini from Liverpool last summer, Sunderland finally got their man at the second time of asking. The Italy international joins the Black Cats in a deal worth up to £10 million and returns to Wearside on a four-year contract, having spent the 2013/14 season on loan at the Stadium of Light.
Discussing the move with the club’s official website, the forward admitted he rejected numerous offers in order to return to the North East:
“It is very nice to be back here because it is a place I called home… It is the perfect time [to come back]. In the past people have been reading a lot but it was a situation out my control and obviously I wasn’t in a position to make any decision. But here I am and as you probably read there were other clubs interested in me but I’m here at Sunderland because I wanted to be here.”
THE HISTORY
Borini began his football journey when he joined Bologna aged just 10 years old, and spent six years with the Italian side before moving to Chelsea in 2007. During the 2008/09 season, he was the first choice forward for the reserves, and made his senior debut as a substitute against Tottenham in September 2009.
The striker would find his opportunities at Stamford Bridge severely limited, though, so the striker joined then-Championship outfit Swansea on loan in March 2011. Borini scored six goals in nine league appearances as the Welsh side secured promotion to the Premier League.
The Italian had already decided his future lay elsewhere, however, and initially joined Parma on a five-year deal, although just months later, Borini would join fellow Italian side Roma on loan. He enjoyed a successful campaign with i Giallorossi, scoring nine goals in 24 league appearances, which led to Liverpool swooping to sign the striker in the summer of 2012 for a fee of around £10.5 million.
An injury-hit first season at Anfield limited Borini to just 13 league appearances, scoring only once, so the forward was sent out on loan to Sunderland for the 2013/14 campaign, where he netted seven times in 32 league outings, and also scored in the 3-1 Capital One Cup final defeat to Manchester City. He returned to Merseyside last season, but found first-team opportunities limited once again, managing just three league starts for the Reds.
Borini featured for Italy throughout the age-groups, and played 18 times for the Under 21s, scoring six goals. His only senior appearance came against the United States in February 2012, while he was included in the squad for Euro 2012.
THE PROSPECTS
Having enjoyed a fairly successful loan spell with Sunderland during the 2013/14 campaign, and with limited competition for the forward positions at the Stadium of Light, Borini should find first-team opportunities easier to come by this season.
Black Cats boss Dick Advocaat has returned to his default 4-3-3 formation in the last couple of fixtures and, with the Dutchman having reservations over Jermain Defoe’s ability to lead the line as a lone striker, has shifted the former Spurs star onto the left flank, with Jeremain Lens fielded on the opposite wing. Given their recent form, both Defoe (two goals) and Lens (one goal, three assists) look poised to continue out wide.
Advocaat has subsequently started Danny Graham in the central role but is expected to install Borini through the middle at the former Swansea man’s expense, with Steven Fletcher likely to retain bench-warming duties. The Black Cats boss could even continue with the 4-2-3-1 set-up employed in the second-half of the Gameweek 4 draw with Villa, which saw new boy Ola Toivonen stationed in the central support role behind a lone forward.
With a price tag of 5.4 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), Borini could well prove a viable budget option for our three-man frontlines – all the more so if he can replicate the goal threat which saw him fire an effort every 33.7 minutes during his previous stint on Wearside in 2013/14.
Currently owned by just 0.1% of FPL managers, he could prove a real differential for Fantasy managers, though it’s fair to say that few will be willing to initially jump on board, with Bournemouth’s Callum Wilson (5.7) currently the preferred cut-price forward of choice on the back of four goals in the last two Gameweeks.
The upcoming schedule for Advocaat’s side (TOT, bou, mun, WHM, wba, NEW) is pretty favourable barring the Gameweek 7 trip to Old Trafford, though despite scoring six times, it’s worth noting that Sunderland rank second last, only above Newcastle, for total goal attempts with 34. With the consistent Lens producing a goal or assist in all four of his outings so far, though, Fantasy managers keen to invest in the Black Cats may turn to the Dutch midfielder instead until Borini can prove a worthy target up top.
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