RR’s 2023/24 Season Predictions: Who will be Sunderland’s top scorer and best player?

Who’ll be Sunderland’s most important player this season?

Andy Thompson says…Dan Ballard

If we can keep Ballard fit, I firmly believe he’ll be the difference between us having a good season and an outstanding one.

I’ve been so impressed with Ballard since he arrived, but keeping him fit for the whole campaign will be the aim for both the player and the club.

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Jon Guy says…Dan Neil

With Corry Evans still out, Neil is likely to be the lynchpin in our midfield, and if he plays as we know he can, he’ll be part of everything good about the side, both in attack and defence.

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Kev Barker says…Patrick Roberts

Roberts can create something out of nothing and moments of magic that can turn and win games. I also love watching him take the mick out of the opposition!

He’ll be even more important with the loss of Amad and I’m hoping to see him start every week and find a level of consistency that was sometimes missing last season.

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Kevin Campbell says…Anthony Patterson

Much like last season, Patterson appears to be preparing for another campaign with little to no cover between the sticks.

Even if the alleged deal for Nathan Bishop is completed, depth in this position seems a bit light.

Patterson was solid during 2022/2023, and if he continues his development, he may be on his way to a ‘club player of the year’ kind of season.

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Kyle Garrett says…Pierre Ekwah

I’m really excited by Ekwah and I firmly believe if he can continue his form from the back end of last season, we might have one of the best midfielders in the league.

If he can add goals and assists to his game, there won’t be anyone more important.

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Tom Albrighton says…Dan Neil

Neil isn’t an obvious choice but that doesn’t negate how important he may be.

Still tender in age, Neil impressed more often than not last season and will now find himself as a more senior figure in the centre of the park at the age of twenty-one.

When you look at our options in midfield, there’s only Neil and Ekwah you can see playing in excess of forty games this season, and with Corry Evans still recovering from a serious knee injury, it’ll likely fall on Neil to be the glue that holds the Sunderland midfield together.

With plenty of games and his one hundredth league appearance set to come this season, Neil will also be expected to push on and develop from a breakout season in the Championship. Should he provide all of this, he’ll fast become our most important player to date.

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Who’ll finish the season as our top scorer?

Andy Thompson says…Hemir

At this point, it’s hard to judge as we only have one fit striker at the time of writing.

I think we’ll score goals with the type of free flowing football we can play, so it wouldn’t surprise me to see someone from attacking midfield grab this accolade this year.

The obvious choice would be Hemir.

It depends if he stays first choice due to transfers and loans that may still happen, but for now, he gets the nod from me.

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Jon Guy says…Ross Stewart

If Stewart remains at the club and stays fit, he could get twenty-plus goals this season.

If he doesn’t, we need two more strikers, and if we get them, it’s likely to be one of those.

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Kev Barker says…Jack Clarke

This is difficult as I expect and pray we’ll be signing one or two strikers in the coming weeks, but without knowing who they may be, I’d go for Clarke.

Last season, he showed that he can finish both tap-ins and top corner pearlers, and if he can add a little composure when he gets time one on one, he can bag double figures.

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Kev Campbell says…Patrick Roberts

The striker situation isn’t abundantly clear at the moment, and if Ross Stewart is retained and returns to full fitness, he and Hemir may rotate or play together, limiting big goal numbers for either.

Roberts has been the best player on the pitch during pre-season and he seems to have started his preparations for the new season with an increased fire under him.

I’d like him to dominate the Championship this season and start racking up the goals as quickly as he does nutmegs.

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Kyle Garrett says…Hemir

It’s hard to say right now, as surely our business at the top end of the pitch isn’t done yet? Twenty five of our goals last season came from Amad and Stewart. Amad isn’t at the club and Stewart is injured long term.

Jack Clarke also scored of our goals and there are also question marks over his future so that’s nearly forty goals we might have to replace.

Hemir is really the only answer right now, even though we can only base his ability off pre-season games against limited opposition.

Tom Albrighton says…Hemir

This could be one of many and with our business not even halfway to being done, it would be crazy to attempt to predict this with any certainty.

To ad-lib slightly on this question, I’ll gladly predict that in terms of goal contributions, Jack Clarke will dazzle again and complete another ‘double-double’.

Hemir is also one to keep an eye on this season and whilst he may not top the goal scoring charts it, would be no surprise to see him notch up double figures in his debut season.

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Who’ll be Sunderland’s best young player?

Andy Thompson says…Pierre Ekwah

This could’ve been given to any one of our exciting young players, but I think Ekwah will be pivotal this season.

I’m so excited to see this lad play again. He seems to improve with every game and his physicality in our midfield has been needed for some time. I’m looking forward to seeing him develop further this year with more game time.

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Jon Guy says…Jobe Bellingham

I have high hopes for Bellingham this season.

He’s played Championship football and he knows what’s required, so it could be a big season for him.

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Kev Barker says…Pierre Ekwah

If he can continue his form from last season’s run-in, where he looked like he’d been playing at Championship level for years, we’ve got an exciting talent on our hands.

If the club can help to develop him and he works hard, he can be a top player for us this season.

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Kev Campbell says…Niall Huggins

Injuries and setbacks have kept us from seeing if his signing was a good one or not, but he seems to have shaken those off.

He’s only twenty-two, with all the tools to be a consistent, contributing member of this squad, and he has every opportunity to make the right back position his own.

I’m looking for Huggins to be the first name on the team sheet by late fall.

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Kyle Garrett says…too many to choose from!

Many of our players are young but some are now more ‘senior’ heads in the changing room.

I think Dennis Cirkin and Dan Ballard will both have good seasons if they can stay fit. I obviously mentioned Ekwah earlier, and I also think Isaac Lihadji might surprise a few people.

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Tom Albrighton says…Pierre Ekwah

Towards the end of last season, Ekwah really displayed his ability and on several occasions, he found himself running entire games.

His quality is there for all to see and impressively his statistics marry up to the ever popular ’eye test’ - what more can you want?

With Ekwah’s emergence, we saw Edouard Michut just about pushed out the door, which highlights just how much quality the former West Ham man possesses. Given a full season, you can only see Ekwah going from strength to strength, as he builds upon his own ability and partnerships around him.

An honourable mention must go to Trai Hume, who you’d also not baulk at backing to be the division’s leading full back.

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