Sunderland supporters will still be largely happy with their side’s blistering start to the season in the Championship, despite coming unstuck for the first time in the league to Wayne Rooney’s Plymouth Argyle this weekend.
That was the first time Regis Le Bris had tasted the bitterness of a defeat in the Black Cats hot-seat after the new manager had steered his confident Wearside outfit to three wins on the bounce before the Pilgrims inflicted a shock 3-2 loss to the early pace-setters.
Sunderland have managed this great form without really having a potent striker in attack to rely on, with young hotshot Eliezer Mayenda still learning the ropes with two goals from five, albeit those strikes did all come in one game.
Long gone are the days that Sunderland would fork out wads of cash to sign experienced EFL heads to make up the majority of their side, with Will Grigg once a hotly anticipated signing that fit this billing, who would fail majorly at the Stadium of Light.
Will Grigg’s time at Sunderland
Grigg would arrive on Wearside in 2019 with a reputation for being a clinical finisher, having become a widely known goal machine for Wigan Athletic, before seeking out pastures new with Sunderland.
The Northern Irish striker would fire home an impressive 65 strikes from 150 games playing for the Latics, with 25 of those goals coming during one single League One campaign back in the 15/16 season.
As a direct consequence of his reputation rising to be that of an ice-cold finisher of chances under pressure, he would cost Sunderland a pretty penny, with the Black Cats splashing out a hefty £4m for his services in 2019.
It would ultimately go down as a dire transfer misfire from Stewart Donald as Grigg could never quite find his shooting boots donning his new red and white colours, with a lacklustre eight goals registered for Sunderland from 62 overall clashes.
Sunderland would then go on to find Ross Stewart who did end up being a deadly finisher, whilst Grigg was moved on, with Milton Keynes Dons snapping him up on a free transfer in 2022, a drastic decline from the £4m he once was valued at.
However, at Chesterfield now, away from his forgettable playing days in Milton Keynes, Grigg has found that killer instinct once more.
Grigg’s numbers for Chesterfield
Last season when playing for Paul Cook’s Chesterfield in the National League, the experienced EFL veteran would amazingly net more strikes on his own than all of the goal-shy strikers back at the Stadium of Light combined.
It was a particularly difficult 23/24 campaign for Sunderland when it came to unearthing a potent striker from their ranks, with Nazariy Rusyn scoring the most overall at a paltry two, compared to Grigg’s stellar amount of 25.
| Grigg vs other Sunderland strikers (23/24) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player | Games | Goals |
| Grigg | 41 | 25 |
| Rusyn | 22 | 2 |
| Mason Burstow | 20 | 1 |
| Mayenda | 8 | 0 |
| Luis Semedo | 23 | 0 |
| Sourced by Transfermarkt | ||
Glancing at the table above, there’s no real competition between Grigg’s outstanding numbers and his counterparts from Sunderland, although Mayenda will be pleased with himself that he’s got two goals and two assists this campaign under Le Bris, after a bruising first season in England.
Grigg has adjusted back to the demands of EFL football relatively well this season to date too, with one goal and assist managed from seven appearances in the fourth tier, but could now face a lengthy spell in the Spireites treatment room after picking up an injury last match.
Away from Grigg finding his mojo again at Chesterfield, Le Bris back at the Black Cats will be content with what he has at his disposal in the attacking department, as he aims to make one of his current crop into a centre-forward worthy of hitting double digits
