Sunderland have got a huge boost ahead of their Championship meeting with Cardiff City on Sunday, with the club confirming that deadline day acquisition Nazariy Rusyn is now able to play.
The former Ukraine under-21 international joined the Wearside club earlier this month from Zorya Luhansk, but has yet to make an appearance due to a visa issue.
This season, the striker is expected to lead the line for the Black Cats, and there is optimism that he can reproduce his form at his previous club, when he scored 21 goals in 49 games. He did appear in Zorya’s first two games this season, scoring in a 2-1 loss against Rukh Lviv.
It’s been a long wait for manager Tony Mowbray, who appeared pessimistic about the situation earlier this week. The former Celtic manager stated prior to the win over Blackburn Rovers:
“Rusyn still hasn’t received his visa, so he won’t be able to travel for this one, but we’ll get there.”
“Everyone expected it to be here this morning, but we went out to training, came back in, and it is still not here.”
“It’s a little frustrating for him, but he’s willing to do some training.” He needs to catch up because he hasn’t played in three or four weeks.”
The former Dynamo Kiev attacker is now free to join the squad ahead of Sunday’s clash at the Stadium of Light, according to Mowbray’s press conference this afternoon.
“His visa has been approved.” We’ll evaluate him in training and see where he stands. He’s a young man, I say young man, he’s 24.
“The language isn’t great, but he’s a nice kid who looks sharp.” Another question is if he is currently ready to play for our team.”
Sunderland are one of the form teams of the Championship and moved up fourth with Wednesday’s victory at Ewood Park. They are now unbeaten in five games and after struggling to find the net in the early stages of the campaign, have scored 11 goals in their last three outings.
Writer’s View
It’s undoubtedly a boost for Sunderland to finally have one of their big summer signings at their disposal, although their recent form has alleviated the pressure to thrust him straight into the team. Mowbray can now take his time getting the player up to speed, particularly because the squad now appear to have found their shooting boots.
Rusyn will need time to adapt to the physicality of the Championship and he could play a big role in the Black Cats’ push for promotion this season, where they are looking to return to the Premier League for the first time since 2017.