Even though Ateef Konate’s season-long loan at Oxford didn’t work out, he might still have a place in the Black Cats lineup.
Jack Clarke, in particular, has been particularly effective at the Stadium of Light. With nine goals in 17 appearances during the 2023–24 season, Clarke ranks among the Championship’s top scorers, and his goals have propelled the North East side into the play-offs.
However, it seems like the Black Cats are a little too dependent on that combination, and the Teessiders can struggle when things don’t work out for them, as we witnessed in the 2-0 loss to Plymouth Argyle.
The only other true winger Tony Mowbray has right now is Jewison Bennette, and the Costa Rican teenager is still getting used to life in England after moving here in 2022.
As a result, the Sunderland recruitment team could try to sign a versatile winger in January and make a move for Nottingham Forest’s Ateef Konate, who they were very high on almost a year ago.
In the second half of the 2022–23 Championship season, Sunderland was linked to Konate during the January transfer window. Alan Nixon reported that the French attacker was almost certain to join Wearside on loan.
The goalposts, however, had moved in a matter of days because, as per reports, Sunderland would have needed to pay Forest a respectable sum in order to actually acquire his services. Ultimately, a deal was not reached.
Rather than aiming for a Championship promotion push, Konate signed a deal a day later to go on loan to Oxford United for the remainder of the season, where he would face relegation from League One.
Though it was obvious that Konate needed first-team football somewhere, instead of playing under-21 football, things didn’t work out for him at Kassam Stadium.
Konate managed Karl Robinson during his five games as a player for the U’s, but the Frenchman didn’t get a look in when Liam Manning took the Scouser’s spot in the dugout.
It would be a waste of a few months for the young player because there were no injuries to report and Konate was simply not considered by Manning to be as good as the other attacking options available to him.
Although Sunderland and Tony Mowbray have experience developing young players, the Black Cats shouldn’t be deterred by Konate’s brief, fruitless time at United.
Things might have been very different and Konate might have become a better player sooner if Sunderland had signed him permanently in January to add to their abundance of young French talent.
Konate has since returned to Forest to play football for the under-21 team, where he has made seven Premier League 2 appearances and scored three goals while playing as a striker or as the number 10 position.
While Konate is accustomed to playing wide and cutting in on his stronger right foot, he could also be a useful backup option to Clarke when playing on the right, so that’s not really where Sunderland needs help.
Additionally, since Konate’s contract at The City Ground expires this summer, Sunderland may decide to renew their interest in him and take charge of his development starting in January in an attempt to develop him into a real player. The 22-year-old could use a fresh start.
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