Asoro seems to have impressed David Moyes.
Sunderland’s Joel Asoro in action with Middlesbrough’s Antonio Barragan as Sunderland manager David Moyes watches on
Sunderland manager David Moyes has seen some similar qualities in teenage striker Joel Asoro as he has done in frontline forward Jermain Defoe, but would like him to learn a couple of key qualities from his more experienced teammate.
Asoro made his first appearance of the season from the bench in the 2-1 defeat to Middlesbrough at the Stadium of Light on Sunday. Despite the comparisons to the proven finisher in the squad, Moyes is hoping that Asoro can learn from Defoe when it comes to finding the net.
Sunderland’s Jermain Defoe
Moyes is quoted in the Chronicle, saying: “He is like a young Jermain Defoe but he needs to learn to score like Jermain Defoe does.
“I will say to Jermain he needs to tell him how he scores, only strikers can tell when they shoot through people’s legs, when they shoot, when they take it on.
“He needs to show how he gets these opportunities and they are things I am hoping he will pass on.”
Sunderland manager David Moyes
To have that tag of being like Jermain Defoe could be a lot for Asoro to live up to, as he is being compared with a forward that has got a good goalscoring return at every Premier League club he has played for.
It will do no harm for Asoro to at least play in the same side as Defoe. Plenty of younger players have benefited from more experienced players being by the side in the team before.
However, some will say that certain strikers just have an instinct that can’t be taught. There is always scope to work on composure and ability to finish but not everything can be taught.
It will be interesting to see if there is any noticeable improvement in Asoro with the more first team exposure he gets in the coming weeks and months.
Sunderland’s Joel Asoro in action with Borussia Dortmund’s Christian Pulisic
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