Sunderland have not had the best of starts to the league season. Despite bringing in ten new players during the summer, Steve Bruce’s side have just two points and one goal to show for their endeavours so far. The Black Cats boss therefore moved to address this yesterday by snapping up Nicklas Bendtner on a season-long loan.
Bruce is no stranger to Bendtner- he has previously taken the player on loan when in charge of Birmingham City and it was there that the big Dane had his most successful season to date. The club’s assistant boss Eric Black also worked with Bendtner at St Andrews and his statement last night certainly suggests he knows exactly how to handle a player famous for his self-belief:
We’re absolutely delighted to welcome Nicklas, who is an established Barclays Premier League player now. Nicklas had a big impact on our season at Birmingham when he arrived as a youngster and I’m sure he’ll do the same again. He’s a big, physical lad with a good touch, good movement and he’ll certainly bring something to the party.
I’m sure he’ll be looking to come here and prove to the supporters how good a player he is. He probably has more chance of playing first-team football here, and if he grasps it there’s no reason why he can’t be a top, top player.
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The Stats
Born and raised in Denmark but a product of the Arsenal academy from his teenage years, Bendtner had been with Arsenal for seven years until now.
His first true action came in the 2006/07 season when Arsene Wenger loaned him out to Championship side Birmingham City for the season which started to blossom the self-belief that we know all know too well by now.
He has remained at The Emirates ever since and turned out 98 times for the Gunners in the four seasons that followed, scoring 22 goals. Mainly accustomed to being back-up to the likes of Robin Van Persie, the Great Dane made well over half of those appearances from the bench.
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The Prospects
Not short on self-confidence, Bendtner will undoubtedly believe that he will be an unprecedented success while with Sunderland.
Priced rather nicely at just 6.4 (cheaper than current striker Asamoah Gyan) in the Fantasy Premier League he will provide a promising option for when Fantasy Managers want to back the Sunderland offense.
Despite all the bluster, he is a talented striker who can play with the ball at his feet as much as in the air. Inconsistency has always been an issue but with the support of the Sunderland midfield he’ll likely be dished up more than a few chances. Fantasy Managers won’t want another Burnley on our hands again.
The move certainly brings Stephane Sessegnon’s role in the Sunderland XI into question. Bruce has been playing him behind Gyan in a 4-4-1-1, but with one goal in their four games in all competitions, a move back to 4-4-2 could be in the manager’s thinking. Such a scenario would certainly dim Sessegnon’s Fantasy appeal as an out-of-position player, with the Black Cats boss playing Bendtner alongside Gyan up front as he looks to boost the Black Cats firepower.
