Brian Brobbey’s On My Mind
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND - MARCH 22: Sunderland's Brian Brobbey takes his shirt off as he celebrates scoring his side's second goal as Newcastle United's Joe Willock reacts close by during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Sunderland at St James' Park on March 22, 2026 in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. (Photo by Lee Parker - CameraSport via Getty Images) | CameraSport via Getty Images There’s that lad in every under-11 and under-12s team who has realised their physical peak before they venture into adulthood. The one that has the seasoned exterior of a middle-aged man: a beard, a bush, and the brute strength of some of the dads watching on from the touchline.
Invariably, these lads will be outgrown by their peers before the age of 16, and that freakish physical prowess they once had will be swallowed up as the playing field evens itself out. But what happens when that lad who dwarfs everyone else at 12 still does so well into manhood? Well, look no further than Brian Brobbey.
Earlier this season, pictures surfaced of Sunderland’s number nine as a youngster, looking as corporeally imposing as he does today, except he was shrugging off some frightened pre-pubescent teen instead of a terrified, fully-grown Premier League centre-half. There is arguably no striker in world football quite like our Dutchman. While we are very much in the era of number-nine powerhouses, whose bread and butter is the physical humiliation of defenders, the former Ajax forward is a rule unto himself.
Since his acquisition, for a man of such stature, he sure has kept a relatively low profile when it’s come to fans and media prematurely naming their player of the season. Granit Xhaka, Robin Roefs, Noah Sadiki, Enzo Le Fée, Dan Ballard, Nordi Mukiele, Reinildo, and Omar Alderete have all been lauded, and enjoyed their fair share of nominations. Yet, has anyone stepped up in the big moments quite like Brobbey?
Netting decisive winning goals against Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, and Newcastle and scoring equalisers against Arsenal and Tottenham, all of which seemingly in emphatic fashion. This unassuming lad, once mooted as a wonderkid, was brought to Wearside like so many have in recent years, looking to rebuild a reputation that once preceded him. A victim of extortion attempts from a notorious Amsterdam criminal, Brobbey had understandably taken his eye off the ball while contending with death threats, letter bombs, and close friends being shot.