“£15-20m” - Claim made on Eliezer Mayenda as Sunderland AFC face top-flight transfer battle | OneFootball

FLW’s Sunderland fan pundit believes the Black Cats could turn a big profit on Eliezer Mayenda this summer

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Sunderland striker Eliezer Mayenda is reportedly being watched by Premier League clubs and overseas giants after a stellar season so far.

Spanish publication Hoy Aragon has claimed that the Spanish forward is attracting interest across European top flights.

Mayenda joined Sunderland for €1 million in summer 2023 from Sochaux, before spending the latter part of the 2023/24 season on loan at Hibernian.

Football League World asked Sunderland fan pundit Jordan Newcombe his thoughts on a valuation for the six-goal striker.

Eliezer Mayenda could attract a huge profit for Sunderland

“Eliezer Mayenda is being watched by Premier League clubs - I haven’t really seen any reports on this or been looking about,” Newcombe told FLW. “So I don’t know who’s in for him, not interested in who’s in for him - he’s our player, for now and that’s the way it’s going to stay for now, in my heart it’s the only thing that matters for Sunderland.

“But for the prices for Eliezer Mayenda - which is difficult for me to evaluate on, when it comes to valuing players, I’m unsure, as are most people who think about it. We could just be one of those fanbases who say he’s worth 90, 100 million, but we’re not - we’re nowhere near it. And that’s just because he’s scored a good few goals.”

Newcombe spoke highly of the 19-year-old’s services: “Eliezer Mayenda is a player that I rate. He’s class on the ball, holds up well - he does miss a few easy shots, mostly at Blackburn, which was a stinker. He could have won the game but, unfortunately, didn’t go as planned.

“With the way Eliezer Mayenda is right now, I’m unsure, because personally I can’t even remember how much we bought him for. I don’t know if it was a free or a small fee. If it was for free, I'd slap a £15-20m price on him because he’s doing well.

“He’s another one that’s a young prospect for Sunderland, and he’s a young striker - we haven’t had our luck with strikers in many years - so to have players like Mayenda and Isidor - to have these young players come in and do a job is amazing to see.

“For what he is right now, I’m unsure, and I’ll always say that when it comes to price tags, I haven’t got a clue. Obviously, I could just say a random number - but I’m going to say between £12 and 20 million, or even £15 to 20 million.

“It’s proven that he’s worth a few million after what he’s done for Sunderland and how well he plays for Sunderland. It proves he has to start in some certain games - we don’t want to play the two up top for every game because if one gets injured then we’re screwed.

“I’m going to hit it bang in the middle and say £15 million. With add-ons, ride it up to 20 million. The lowest I’ll say is £12 million. We have sold other players off for more with the likes of Jack Clarke - he went around that base, we had the offer in for [Tommy] Watson from Brighton, that went for I think £12 million, £13 million, I’m going to say the least I’ll take is £12 million, but the most would be going up to £20 million.

“Fans might disagree and some may agree - it’s my personal opinion and not something to get attacked about online. But he’s proven he can be a high-value player, especially in a lower league like the Championship, because he can score goals, and he can score goals in pretty good fashion.

“That range for a price, because he hasn’t started as much when Isidor has come in. If he keeps coming in and playing, that price will go up, because he just keeps banging them in.”

Sunderland's strategic approach to managing young talent like Mayenda reflects the club's commitment to developing promising players across the club.

While his current role involves rotation with Wilson Isidor, Mayenda's six goals this season and potential £15-20 million valuation suggest he could be a significant long-term asset for the club, or a lucrative transfer opportunity.

Rumours on Mayenda’s future come as Le Bris has rotated his strikeforce more recently, with the French manager lauding the young forward’s professional approach, demonstrating patience and tangible progress despite limited minutes.

Mayenda now joins Wilson Isidor, Jobe Bellingham, Tommy Watson and Chris Rigg in Sunderland’s emerging group of high-potential players generating significant transfer interest - an emerging cohort that underscores the Black Cats’ sophisticated recruitment and development strategy.