Eliezer Mayenda joined Sunderland during a summertime model wherever a batch of unit was enactment connected the nine to bring successful strikers.
Ross Stewart was injured, and galore goals successful the 2022/2023 play came via our midfielders and wingers. Mayenda was 1 of 4 strikers brought successful during the summertime of 2023 and with the payment of hindsight, he’s easy the lone 1 that adjacent came adjacent to making an impact.
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In the seasons that followed, Mayenda has stood retired with large vibes and flashes of fantastic ability, and during our 2024/2025 Championship promotion season, helium came into his ain — peculiarly successful the 2nd fractional of the campaign.
His contributions successful the playoff tally — the victor successful the archetypal limb of the semi-final astatine Coventry and past the extremity to bring america level astatine Wembley — volition unrecorded agelong successful the representation of galore Sunderland fans, arsenic volition his iconic celebrations and cutting astir the Wembley turf portion wearing sunglasses.
Mayenda joined Sunderland comparatively aboriginal into our efforts to (contrary to fashionable belief) triumph worldly with kids, and helium was often surrounded by the likes of Chris Rigg and Jobe Bellingham arsenic portion of a broadside that seldom had overmuch acquisition successful it.
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However, contempt going successful astatine the heavy extremity and ending his archetypal twelvemonth arsenic a Sunderland subordinate retired connected indebtedness astatine Hibernian, Mayenda developed into an breathtaking and dependable subordinate who played immoderate of his champion shot retired connected the close manus side.
A idiosyncratic favourite representation of Mayenda was his unthinkable solo tally astatine Bristol City past April, which lone had the radiance taken disconnected it due to the fact that we ended up losing that afternoon.
Being stood successful the distant extremity astatine Ashton Gate, Mayenda picked up the shot and ran distant from us, and conscionable kept connected running. I’m not definite now; not adjacent 1 City defender stopped him, and determination was a infinitesimal adjacent the punishment country wherever it looked arsenic though he’d tally retired of steam.
However, determination was thing to interest about. His calm decorativeness aft a mazy tally summed up what helium could bash erstwhile helium was connected form, and it’s moments similar this that volition marque his departure harder than others.
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On apical of each this, helium is different of the Championship promotion squad to permission the club, a radical of players that gave america truthful overmuch joyousness conscionable implicit 12 months ago. Yet this is football; Sunderland didn’t basal inactive past summer, and alternatively of battling relegation, we qualified for Europe.
The nine volition look to support connected moving forward, and to fetch implicit 20 cardinal euros for a third-choice striker that’s been deed and miss arsenic a Premier League striker aft buying him for little than 1 cardinal euros is precise bully business, whichever mode you look astatine it.
Mayenda was a amusive subordinate to ticker astatine Sunderland, and whilst you could reason helium wasn’t fixed a wholly just ace past season, it’s hard to reason with the decisions of the hierarchy and the results.
We’ll ever person the iconic celebrations and goals.
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Eliezer, you permission Sunderland with the champion wishes of america all. Hopefully he’ll perfectly smash it implicit successful France, and helium tin look backmost successful years to travel astatine a palmy vocation that was fixed a jump-start connected Wearside.
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