Sunderland should be monitoring West Ham player's situation very closely: View | OneFootball

Sunderland have faltered so far this calendar year and their hopes of reaching the play-offs for a consecutive season look all but over.

A 2-0 win away at Cardiff City on Good Friday ended a seven-game winless run, where Mike Dodds picked up one point from a possible 21, but a 5-1 trouncing at home to Blackburn Rovers got rid of their glimmer of hope.

Tony Mowbray started the season in the Black Cats hot seat, but he was sacked in early December having won just two of his final nine games in charge.

His replacement was former Queens Park Rangers boss Michael Beale, but his tenure lasted 12 games, with Dodds then taking over on an interim basis until the end of the season.

A major problem for Sunderland this season has been their strikers and it will need to be looked at in the summer.

Sunderland’s striking problem

Goalscoring has been one of the issues that has hindered Sunderland this term and stopped them from mounting a serious play-off challenge.

Their top goalscorer from last season, Amad Diallo, left following the expiry of his loan from Manchester United but while winger Jack Clarke has taken up the goalscoring mantle from Diallo this campaign, scoring 15 goals in 33 league games, he hasn't had much support from their out-and-out strikers.

The four number nines they have had at their disposal this season have scored just three league goals between them and the likes of Alex Pritchard and Jobe Bellingham have at times been preferred up top.

The four all signed in the summer - Nazariy Rusyn from Zorya Luhansk, Mason Burstow on loan from Chelsea, Luis Hemir Semedo from Benfica, and Eliezer Mayenda from Sochaux – and have endured difficult campaigns on Wearside.

That has been massively detrimental to the team's play-off aspirations, particularly with Clarke recently spending weeks on the sideline with an ankle ligament injury.

Sunderland's talisman was back on the bench against Blackburn but with Premier League clubs reportedly circling, he looks set to leave this summer, which makes bringing in a reliable goalscorer all the more important.

Divin Mubama could be Sunderland’s solution

With striker more than likely being Sunderland’s priority in the summer as it stands, a player they should look at is Divin Mubama.

The 19-year-old forward currently plays for West Ham United in the Premier League. He is highly rated at the club, but his contract is set to expire in the summer, and there have been troubles getting him to sign an extension.

For Mubama, Sunderland could be the perfect place for him to establish himself. He played sparingly for the Hammers, but when he has he has been a handful for defenders with his physicality and work rate.

He has also been playing at a high level, featuring four times in the Europa League this season, and scoring once in two games last season as they won the Europa Conference League.

The Championship is a very physically demanding league and Mubama could do well if given the platform.

Mubama, who was linked with a move to the Stadium of Light in January, would fit in with the club's transfer strategy of going for young, high-potential players and may look at how the likes of Clarke and Diallo have kick-started their career at Black Cats as a reason to make the move.

It would certainly be ambitious and Sunderland are likely to face plenty of competition but his contract situation is an opportunity they won't want to miss out on and it's something they should be monitoring very closely.