Tony Mowbray has declared himself pleased with Sunderland's transfer activity to date, but the Black Cats boss is eager to add at least one more centre-forward to his squad before the new Championship season gets underway.
What players have Sunderland signed?
The northeast outfit have been one of the busier clubs in the division in terms of their summer signings up to this point, with four new players – all aged 20 or younger – arriving at the Stadium of Light.
The signings of Nectarios Triantis, Jenson Seelt, Jobe Bellingham and Luis "Hemir" Semedo have helped to freshen up a side that fell just short of earning promotion via the play-offs last season.
However, Mowbray saw key loan star Amad Diallo return to parent club Manchester United last month at the end of his loan spell, whilst Ross Stewart will miss the start of the season through injury, and Jack Clarke remains a target for numerous Premier League sides.
Mowbray said at the weekend that Sunderland "could probably do with some help at the top end of the pitch over the next few weeks", and Ukrainian outlet TaToTake suggests Zorya Luhansk forward Nazariy Rusyn is one of those being eyed up by the Black Cats.
Who is Nazariy Rusyn?
Rusyn started his career at Dynamo Kyiv prior to joining Zorya in 2019, initially on loan, while he has also had spells at Dnipro-1 and Legia Warsaw.
Now aged 24, it is claimed the Ukrainian is ready to test himself in English football.
Whilst Rusyn's time at Legia did not go entirely to plan, he has shown plenty of promise at both Dynamo and Luhansk, with Dynamo Abroad podcast co-host 'Dima' previously describing him as an "excellent" potential signing for any interested club.
Valued at just €2m (£1.7m), according to Zorya Londonsk, the Novoyavorivsk native is coming off the back of an impressive campaign in which he scored 13 goals in 30 Ukrainian Premier League appearances, including 10 in 15 to see out the season.
As a player who is capable of playing across the forward line, there are many similarities between Rusyn and Diallo – the man he would effectively be replacing should he arrive on Wearside.
For example, both players scored 13 regular-season goals in their respective divisions last season.
Whereas Rusyn scored at a rate of 0.54 goals per 90 in the Ukrainian top flight, Diallo netted 0.45 goals per 90 in the Championship, as per FBref.
The Luhansk ace also just about edged things in terms of assists – he set up five goals to Diallo's three – though the quality of the two divisions must also be factored in.
Both players like to get on the ball and go for goal, while there are also strong similarities right down to their disciplinary records, with each picking up three yellow cards last season.
Mowbray has already accepted that Diallo will not be returning to the Stadium of Light next season. In relative unknown star Rusyn, he may just have the ideal alternative.