Sunderland AFC transfer for ex-Leeds United player is not looking pretty | OneFootball

Ian Poveda has been a massive disappointment since signing for the Black Cats

Sunderland must have thought they had struck gold when they snaffled Ian Poveda from promotion rivals Leeds United last summer.

The Colombian departed Elland Road to bring a four-and-a-half year association with the Whites to an end, having spent the second half of the previous campaign on loan at Sheffield Wednesday.

Having played a major part in keeping the Owls away from the relegation zone with a number of eye-catching performances, the Mackems would have been hoping for similar when he moved to the Stadium of Light.

Things haven’t quite panned out that way though, with a succession of injury setbacks seeing the 25-year-old struggle to get on the pitch this season.

Ian Poveda’s injury woes hamper immediate Sunderland AFC impact

Poveda missed the last few weeks of last season with an injury whilst at Sheffield Wednesday, and that run of bad luck has continued into the 2024/25 campaign, as he is yet to earn a first start for the Black Cats since his summer arrival.

Appearances were sporadic from the get-go in the north east, with a solitary showing in August, September and October proving how unreliable his fitness was right from the off, as he played second fiddle to Patrick Roberts in the wide areas.

His third outing in red and white against Derby County saw him last just ten minutes after appearing as a second-half substitute, with the consequential hamstring strain keeping him out until earlier this month.

Even as he works his way back into first-team contention now, Poveda is only being introduced in the dying embers of games, and still looks like he isn’t capable of featuring from the start anytime soon, which will have hampered Regis Le Bris’ options in the final third throughout the campaign.

Having been brought in to compete with Roberts for a spot in the first team, the Colombian has done nothing but eat into the wage bill on Wearside of late, with Sunderland likely regretting offering the player a three-year deal last summer, with the option of a fourth.

Monday night’s five-minute cameo against Leeds United saw him reach 86 minutes of game time across the season, with that action spread over six separate matches as he makes his way into the fold from the bench.

In terms of expectation versus reality, there can’t be many bigger let downs in the Championship this season, with yet another player confined to the medical room at the Stadium of Light for the majority of the season.

Sunderland have not learned from Bradley Dack scenario with Ian Poveda

The situation with Poveda right now must remind the Sunderland faithful of the same situation they had with Bradley Dack throughout the previous campaign, with the playmaker unable to regular feature due to constant injury issues.

Having had his concerns while at Blackburn Rovers, the Wearsiders took a punt on the attacking midfielder, before a hamstring issue sidelined him for much of the year, as he made just six starts in his year in red and white.

Poveda is a player who has been plagued by issues throughout his career, just like Dack [pictured], with just 24 league starts by the age of 25 telling its own story in terms of his bad luck with injuries.

The only difference between the two is that the Mackems now have two more seasons with Poveda on their hands, and with his lack of availability continuing to cause a concern, there is unlikely to be many sides queuing up to take him off their hands in the future.

As the race for promotion continues, Le Bris and his recruitment team will be cursing the decision to bring the player in last summer, with another option likely to have had more influence on the side over the course of the campaign.

While there will be hope that Poveda can return to the sort of form he showed at Hillsborough for the remainder of the season, there won’t be too many on Wearside holding their breath.