Sunderland hotshot Wilson Isidor has taken the Premier League by storm
Wilson Isidor celebrates after equalising for Sunderland against Aston Villa.
Few could have believed Sunderland’s Wilson Isidor would adapt so well to the Premier League and Marco Gabbiadini has given his own tribute.
The former Black Cats striker has been impressed with Isidor’s eye-catching form this season and the forward now has four goals to his name from the opening nine matches despite not starting in all of them.
The manner in which he has made the step up to the Premier League in recent weeks has earned acclaim from Gabbiadini and he watched on as the Frenchman hit his fourth goal, at Chelsea.
Having started behind Eliezer Mayenda in the pecking order at the beginning of the season, Isidor is now Regis Le Bris’ favoured centre-forward.
And while Gabbiadini admitted he thought it took Isidor a while to adapt to English football when he first arrived on Wearside last term, he has suggested that the 25-year-old has taken to the Premier League like a duck to water.
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Speaking on BBC Radio Newcastle’s Total Sport, he said: “I think he’s really upped his game. You know, he really has.
“I think last season, he was a slow starter. It took him a while to get into the rhythm of the club, but I think he soon became a bit of a favourite. He scored some spectacular goals – you know, that one where he ran 50 yards, the full half of the pitch at Hull, it was a turning point, I thought.
“But he’s shown he’s got great strength and pace over distance, which sometimes is difficult to do. You know, he actually keeps a gallop up and keeps control of the ball. And we’ve seen him score so many of these breakaway goals.
“He maybe wasn’t expecting to start, but he’s taken his opportunity, and his finishing is excellent. He’s took advantage of the few chances that he’s had, because we haven’t created as many chances as some of the teams we’ve played against, but we’ve been pretty ruthless, which is a nice trait to have.
“[He looks like] a player who looks like he really has a good connection with the crowd because he looks like he enjoys playing, doesn’t he? You can tell that he’s really having the time of his life. Some players have a different look on their face, but he just loves every minute.”
He added: “It’s hard work. Obviously there’s finishers. It doesn’t mean they come on because they’re good finishers or [good at] finishing moves off for goals. They’re finishers because they’re seeing the game through.
“And we’ve talked about it a lot this year, that coming on as a sub is a good thing to do because you can come on to a defence that’s had a tough afternoon.
“Whoever was on before you has run them around and chased them down and put a bit of pressure on, and then you come on and try and find where the gaps start to appear.
“Isidor’s been the recipient of that quite a few times, where he’s come on, but he’s also, you know, starting games and scoring goals as well, which is fantastic.”
