Sunderland are chasing promotion back up to the Championship and are currently fourth in the League One table as it stands.

The Black Cats made a number of moves in the summer transfer window to bolster Lee Johnson's side, with nine players coming in either on loan or on a permanent basis.

One of those signings was the addition of Leon Dajaku on loan from Bundesliga side Union Berlin.

The German under-20 international arrived towards the end of the window and the northeast giants hold an option to sign him permanently ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

Johnson said this of the forward upon his unveiling: “Leon is a really interesting player – he’s a top prospect with good ability, agility and quality – so we are looking forward to adding him to the squad and working with him.

"He’s a hungry player that has shown a strong attitude and desire to come to Sunderland and grow with us, which is exactly what we want.”

The forward has not been a raging success at the Stadium of Light, however, as he has struggled for consistency in the third tier of English football.

Dajaku is currently on an eight-game goal drought and has scored four in 19 matches, along with three assists.

The German has created just 0.8 chances per game on average and this suggests that he has not been a reliable creative outlet on the wing, whilst also not being a very prolific scorer.

He has averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.74 in the division, which places him 19th in the squad overall.

This suggests that he has been one of the worst players in the team in terms of the standards he is able to set on a consistent basis, as his performances have been below par in comparison to his teammates.

As per SofaScore, he has lost possession 247 times in his 19 League One outings. He has also lost a whopping 65% of his individual duels, whilst winning only 2.5 battles per match.

This shows that he has been a liability on and off the ball for Sunderland as he has been too clumsy in possession and too weak out of it as he has been outmuscled time and time again by the opposition.

Therefore, Sunderland will surely be disappointed with Dajaku on the evidence of this season so far.

He has not been consistent in his play in the final third and his work off the ball has left plenty to be desired, which could now have Alex Neil considering whether or not he wants to sign him on a permanent basis.

Although, the £1.62m-rated winger still has a number of months left to turn his season around and show that he deserves to be a regular starter who can have a bright future on Wearside.

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