Sunderland’s new loan signing Dame N’Doye will be thrown straight into the mix, as he is set to make his debut against AFC Bournemouth.
New faces
The striker is expected to be one of just a few new faces that will make their way to Stadium of Light, after signing from Turkish side Trabzonspor. Following a full week of training on Wearside he is expected to take his place among the substitutes on Saturday for the visit of Eddie Howe’s side.
His last full outing was back in November but Sam Allardyce is hopeful that the Senegal international can hit the ground running, similar to his spell at Hull City last season where he managed five goals in 15 appearances.
Allardyce told the Sunderland Echo that he has been in contact with current Tigers boss “Brucey” (Steve Bruce) and explained it was the “same scenario” as last January.
He added that he was “alright then” as he was thrown “straight in” and is hopeful that he can “do the same” for the Wearsiders.
Too early to judge
N’Doye is expected to be joined on the bench by fellow new signing Jan Kirchoff after the German centre back was criticised on his debut in the 4-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur last week.
However Allardyce believes that it is too early to judge the former Bayern Munich defender as he looks to build up match fitness.
The Black Cats boss said that “what matters” is what happens “at the end of the season” as he believes that is the “telling point” to whether they have been a “success or not”.
He added that “many players” perform poorly for 30 minutes but the deflected goal and penalty decision saw Kirchoff “picked out”.
Allardyce was hopeful that such a performance won’t happen again and believes they will get “stronger” going forward.
Sunderland will take on Bournemouth at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, January 23 with kick-off at 3PM GMT.
