A Last Stand Or A Statement Of Intent From Wilson Isidor?

Sunderland's Wilson Isidor scores their side's third goal of the game during the Premier League match at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, Liverpool. Picture date: Sunday May 17, 2026. (Photo by Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images) | PA Images via Getty Images After Wilson Isidor applied the gloss to Sunderland’s 1-3 away victory over Everton on Sunday, slotting the ball neatly into the bottom corner of the Toffees’ goal after a swift attack and potentially confidence-boosting assist from Habib Diarra, there was almost as much focus on his ‘cupped ear’ celebration as there was on the goal itself and the importance of the victory.

Who was it directed towards, and what was the significance of it? Was the World Cup-bound Haiti striker sending a message to the Everton supporters, the travelling Lads’ fans, the Sunderland hierarchy — or perhaps all three? It was a classic Isidor goal; an unerring finish towards the end of a game and it proved that for the time being at least, Sunderland do have a viable and exciting alternative to Brian Brobbey on hand, a striker that can add something different and can also affect a game enormously when on form.

Given his unique attributes and fearless on-field attitude, Régis Le Bris’ decision to anoint the Dutch striker as our leading marksman is inarguable, and his own contribution on Sunday was notable as he forced James Tarkowski to attempt Booker T’s ‘Spinarooney’ before crashing the ball past Jordan Pickford, but Isidor has chipped in with some key goals of his own this season and could scarcely have chosen a more opportune moment to remind everyone of his ability. Somewhat unhelpfully, Isidor’s future has been at the centre of plenty of speculation during the second half of the season. Rumours of a potential Sunderland departure have seldom been far from the discussion and there have been times — particularly during the away clash with Leeds — when I felt as though he was perhaps headed for the exit amid what appeared to be sub-par performances and some worrying body language.

However, I remain a huge fan of the flamboyant forward and if there’s one thing his goals against Everton and Aston Villa showed, it’s that there is a promising Premier League striker there, and I can’t help but feel that were Sunderland to let him go, we may come to regret it further down the line. His equaliser at Villa Park, exploding onto a defence-splitter from Enzo Le Fée and finishing smartly, was a classic example, and who’s to say he couldn’t do that on a semi-regular basis for a rival team if given the appropriate standard of service? It’s true that his hold-up play and physical strength aren’t on a par with Brobbey, but his pace, movement and eye for goal more than compensate for that — a nice balance, in my opinion.