When Sunderland wanted Diego Forlan

Sunderland sporting director Kristjaan Speakman struck gold in January 2021 when he introduced in Scottish ahead Ross Stewart from Ross County.

The striker has loved an excellent time with the Black Cats up to now and is at the moment sat on 34 targets and eight assists in 72 aggressive outings for the membership, together with 5 targets and three assists in seven Championship matches this time period.

He’s following within the footsteps of the likes of Kevin Phillips, Darren Bent, and Jermain Defoe when it comes to strikers who’ve been profitable on Wearside over time.

There’s one other identify who might have been on that checklist and that’s Uruguayan predator Diego Forlan, who was wished by Roy Keane throughout his tenure in cost between 2006 and 2008.

Talking to The Athletic in 2021, the now-retired striker revealed that the Irish supervisor tried to carry him to the Stadium of Gentle.

“I needed to depart United for Villarreal. One thing inside instructed me I wanted to show a web page, begin once more. And I’m glad I did, that season turned every part round for me, however I might have gone again to England a number of occasions.

Would Forlan have been an incredible signing?

“Roy Keane referred to as me when he was at Sunderland. ‘Diego’, he stated. ‘I do know you want a seashore — we’ve one right here at Sunderland’.”

The previous Manchester United teammates didn’t find yourself linking up as soon as once more because the ahead opted in opposition to arriving on Wearside. As a substitute, he signed for Atletico Madrid in the summertime of 2007, with Keane seemingly unable to persuade him to make the swap again to England.

Forlan scored 17 occasions in 97 matches for the Purple Devils close to the beginning of his profession earlier than discovering his ft in Spain with Villarreal, the place he plundered 58 targets in 125 outings.

His kind for the Spanish aspect was sufficient to draw the curiosity of Sunderland and their failure to snap him up turned out to be a mistake on their half as he went on to take pleasure in a chic spell in Madrid.

After making the transfer to the capital, Forlan scored 96 targets and supplied 31 assists in 198 matches in all competitions. This included him netting 32 targets and aiding ten in 33 La Liga appearances within the 2008/09 marketing campaign.

The prolific centre-forward additionally discovered the again of the web 36 occasions in 112 caps for Uruguay all through his profession, proving himself to be an elite striker on the worldwide stage in addition to in Spain. Throughout the 2010 World Cup, Mark Lawrenson went so far as to say that he might “play in his slippers” in matches.

His spectacular 224-goal profession haul means that he might have been a unbelievable signing for Sunderland, as he was very good in entrance of aim for Villarreal and Atletico, and that’s the reason Keane made a blunder by failing to snap him up.