Black Cats’ teen star Asoro hot property with top clubs as future on Wearside hinges on new manager
SUNDERLAND could struggle to hold on to Joel Asoro this summer with a number of Europe’s top clubs tracking the teenage sensation.
Asoro made his Sunderland firstteam debut last season at the age of just 18, while he also broke into the Sweden Under-21 side too.
His explosive pace caught the eye of many but David Moyes was reluctant to play him too often in Sunderland’s struggling first team.
His impressive form for the under-23s side earned him a nomination for both the Premier League Two Player of the Year and the European Golden Boy awards, however.
He is touted as one of the rising young stars in European football.
With Sunderland still without a manager, it is uncertain how often Asoro would be used on Wearside next season - but he wants to play regularly. Should the new Black Cats boss not guarantee him that in the Championship, then he may decide to force through a move elsewhere.
Some of Europe’s top clubs are tracking the forward and although he will struggle to break into the first teams at most he will see it as a much better opportunity to develop with their world-class facilities.
Names of potential suitors of Asoro include both Manchester and Milan clubs, Chelsea, PSG, Bayern Munich and many others.
Arsenal were also credited with an offer of just £3m but Asoro still has two years to run on his deal at the Stadium of Light, so that figure seems incredibly low given the expectations surrounding his potential.
Asoro is in Poland with Sweden for the Under-21 European Championships, where the
aforementioned clubs are expected to be following his performances closely. He missed the opening group game against England through suspension but is expected to line up today against the hosts.
In previous interviews, Asoro has hinted that his future could lie away from Wearside.
He had said: “People were a little shocked (about Arsenal’s interest) because I have played very little first-team football. It is clear people are surprised but we will see what happens, I have heard a little bit but if I think about it too much it becomes ‘what if, what if’.
“I try not to think about it too much. It came as a shock.
“It is clear clubs contact each other and stuff but it is my agent in charge of it. I try to focus on my football.
“It is not something you can decide now. We will have to see who the new manager is and whether or not they like me. If not, I will have to look for something. I have to develop and cannot just play under-23 football all the time.”
The fact he is keen to play firstteam football is a boost to Sunderland’s chances of retaining him, providing the new manager is less reluctant than Moyes was to give him his opportunity.