Lukas Nmecha cannot stop scoring for Manchester City’s Premier League 2 side and Championship strugglers Sunderland could bet their survival on him.
Sunderland are bottom of the Championship and, after the sudden exits of both James Vaughan and Lewis Grabban, are in need of a striker to swoop down and save them from the perils of relegation.
That is a lot of pressure to put on the shoulders of a 19-year-old who only made his senior debut last month.
But with Sunderland riddled by debt and unable to bring in any permanent additions until they manage to sell some of their high earners, they have been forced to look at signing promising but completely unproven youngsters on temporary deals.
And after attempting to lure Ben Woodburn to the Stadium of Light from Liverpool, The Mail states that Sunderland have turned their attention to another teenager in Manchester City’s Lukas Nmecha.
The powerful front man is a player of great potential; you do not force your way into Pep Guardiola’s plans without being a special talent. Nmecha made his City debut in last month’s EFL Cup quarter-final clash with Leicester City but, in truth, his most impressive achievements have come at youth level.
Nmecha helped England become Under-19 European champions last year and his record in City’s academy side is impressive to say the least.
He has eight goals in just seven games for City’s Under-23 team in the Premier League 2 this season, with his pace, power and natural poachers instinct blowing the opposition away at times.
Whether he can score the goals to keep Sunderland in the Championship, however, is another matter entirely.
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