Exclusive: Wilson Isidor worries vanish after what happened for Sunderland
Sunderland have Wilson Isidor to thank in no small part this season for what they have so far achieved.
The Frenchman – whose initial loan move from Zenit St Petersburg last summer has since been made permanent – has quickly struck a chord with the Wearside fans, not just for his 12 league goals and counting but his warmth to the region as well.
Isidor is the latest in a line of trial and error to find the striker Sunderland have been looking for, and his goals have helped fire Regis Le Bris‘ side into a Championship top four streaks ahead of the rest.
Wilson Isidor ‘best since Stewart’
Isidor has taken to Championship football naturally and is considered to be the best striker Sunderland have had since Ross Stewart, by Ian Darke.
TV commentator Darke has credited the 24-year-old for his mental recovery after the double penalty miss at promotion rivals Burnley.
Isidor has become a firm terrace favourite and will look to inspire the Black Cats back into a positive vein of form when they take on Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough on Friday night (28 February).
“Isidor is looking that way, to become one of the best they’ve had in recent times since Ross Stewart,” Darke said.
“He recovered well from that nightmare at Burnley where he missed the two penalties. I was worried about him after that, seeing him begging for forgiveness from the fans and in tears.
“But he’s been a big hit – the issue of late is the dropped points.”
Sunderland strikers in recent years
Sunderland are of course shopping in a far more high-profile market than back in League One, but Isidor has taken to English football superbly since his arrival.
Stewart was a complete striker whose goals steered the Black Cats to the Championship, and his reward of a Premier League move to Southampton has unfortunately been utterly hampered by injuries.
| Season | Sunderland top scorers | Goals |
| 2024-25* | Wilson Isidor* | 12* |
| 2023-24 | Jack Clarke | 15 |
| 2022-23 | Amad Diallo | 13 |
| 2021-22 | Ross Stewart | 26 |
| 2020-21 | Charlie Wyke | 26 |
| 2019-20 | Chris Maguire | 10 |
The likes of Charlie Wyke and now-Premier League forward Nathan Broadhead did their bit, and there was of course the return of a 39-year-old Jermain Defoe which did not live up to the romance of his arrival.
One thing that the striker frustration did help for Sunderland was the reliance on goals from all over the pitch, as seen with players like Jack Clarke in the past couple of seasons, and also players such as Jobe Bellingham, Eliezer Mayenda and before them the wizardry of Amad Diallo and Aiden McGeady.