Striker SOS; Sunderland want Chris Martin on loan - but is he any good? The verdict from Derby

With Sunderland’s hopes of landing Jon Walters and Ben Woodburn now apparently dead, the Black Cats are reportedly still keen on signing Derby striker Chris Martin on loan until the end of the season.

Martin is a typical Coleman frontman - a burly number 9 who’s in need of a career boost, the 29-year-old has only scored once this season with his Rams outings generally limited to introductions from the bench.

Derby are up to second in the table after a run of eight games without defeat, but Martin will continue to find his opportunities limited behind top scorer Matej Vydra and David Nugent.

Sunderland would be looking at a loan deal of course, but the 6ft hit man has spent much of his career at temporary stops.

Martin was loan at Fulham last season in a stint which ended up being a little controversial. After learning Steve McClaren had rejoined Derby, the striker attempted to engineer a return to Pride Park only for Slavisa Jokanovic to block his escape attempt.

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Rams boss Gary Rowett has admitted Martin is likely to leave this month in search of more game time and Sky Sports have suggested the striker is in talks with Sunderland about a short-term stint.

Chris Coleman is now desperate for a striker, but is Martin the answer to Sunderland’s woes up front? We collared Derby fan and freelance journalist Blake Fallows to get the crack...

I’ll be sad to see Chris Martin leave. He’s a strong, technically good and clever forward who on his day is almost unplayable at this level - he’s got 60 plus goals in three and bit seasons, in a side that has constantly challenged at the top of the table.

His critics think he can go down a bit too easily at times and that he’s lazy. This is part of his charm. He’ll go down and win you the free kick 9 times out of 10. It’s not diving, it’s clever play.

I can see Martin, if he goes to Sunderland, getting 10 plus goals and helping them to stay in the Championship!

The Verdict

Martin is a striker who has consistently scored goals throughout his career. His lowest return from a full season is 13 but he hasn’t been playing much football for the last year or so.

Strong and aggressive when up against opposition defenders, Martin possesses an ‘oomph’ lacking from the Black Cats line-up at present.

The Scotland international would benefit from the likes of Aiden McGeady offering support from the flanks and Chris Coleman is said to be looking for an attacking midfielder which may be essential to get the most out of Martin’s game.

If he’s up for it and a deal can be registered in time, he would go straight into Saturday’s line-up for the six-pointer with Hull - but time for that is running out fast.