Mason Burstow joined Sunderland on a season-long loan deal on transfer deadline day – but what will the next 12 months hold for the 20-year-old forward?
Burstow is still searching for his first Black Cats goal after nine Championship appearances, including seven starts, while he turned down other offers to move to Wearside. After a deal was reached, Sunderland’s sporting director Kristjaan Speakman told the club’s website: “Mason is one of the brightest young centre forwards on the cusp of the Premier League environment and he is a player that we have monitored for some time.
A reason for the delay was that Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino wanted to take a closer look at Burstow over pre-season, while the forward started the Blues’ Carabao Cup win over AFC Wimbledon in August, and came off the bench against West Ham and Luton in the Premier League.
Sunderland were also trying to sign the striker permanently but settled on a loan agreement. “I knew at the start of the window there was interest,” Burstow told the Echo in October when asked about Sunderland’s approach. “It was mainly to buy me but then Chelsea weren’t having it and obviously I was part of Chelsea being on the bench a few times and coming on.
“Eventually Pochettino gave me the go ahead to go out on loan and that’s when Sunderland came straight back in. I knew they had interest the whole window, I knew they were watching me which made it a no brainer to come here.”
“I’m expecting him to be here for the season,” said Mowbray when asked about Burstow’s loan deal in October. “I’m sure there will be a recall in there – every loan these days seems to have a recall. Chelsea seem to have turned the corner a little bit in terms of results though, so maybe there won’t be such urgency to recall a young boy to do a man’s job for them.”
In the short team, Burstow will be trying to force his way back into Sunderland’s starting XI after playing just two minutes in the Black Cats’ last three fixtures. “Mason has been fine,” said Mowbray when asked about the striker’s reaction earlier this month.
“You have to put into context the fact that he’s still a young boy, he understands – and yet he will be disappointed, I’d expect him to be disappointed. He’s come on loan, he hopes to come and play first and foremost, and then he hopes to score. I talked to him about the positives of what he has helped the team do, and he just needs a break, an opportunity where someone squares it to him for a tap-in to get him off and running.”
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