Victor Anichebe could be heading back to England with Championship hopefuls Bolton Wanderers – but will former club Sunderland make a move?
Who knows, perhaps Sunderland would not have been cut adrift so quickly last season if Victor Anichebe had not spent most of the campaign on the sidelines with injury.
The powerful striker looked to be an absolute steal of a signing early in the 2016/17 season. Anichebe moved to the Stadium of Light on a free when his contract at West Brom expired and, by November, a strike force of he and Jermain Defoe looked good enough to keep Sunderland’s head above the water.
Anichebe scored a winner away at Bournemouth in the autumn and, in his next outing, fired two in a 3-0 away win at relegation rivals Hull City.
But, after missing three months between January and April with injury, The Black Cats’ nine lives were all but up by the time Anichebe returned to action.
And, almost a year on, Sunderland are facing successive relegations in the face. Only Burton Albion are keeping Chris Coleman’s side off the bottom of the Championship right now.
So it doesn’t take a genius to work out why some fans are clamouring for Anichebe’s return after he left Chinese side Beijing Enterprises.
The Black Cats are relying on the young, unproven loanee Ashley Fletcher for goals right now so, in the eyes of some, bringing the Nigerian powerhouse back to Wearside is nothing other than a no-brainer.
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