Although not all of the responsibility can be placed solely on Burstow for his goal drought this season, many Sunderland supporters had higher expectations from the young forward on loan from Chelsea. Burstow, aged 20, progressed through the youth systems at Welling United and Maidstone United before making a move to Charlton Athletic in 2020.
In his debut season in League One, he impressed by scoring six goals across all competitions, catching the attention of Chelsea. Consequently, Burstow officially joined Chelsea in 2022 but was loaned out to Sunderland for the current campaign.
However, his performance at The Stadium of Light has left much to be desired, with only one goal to his name so far in the Black Cats’ victory over Stoke City.
While this goal could potentially boost his confidence and spur him on, Burstow appeared visibly frustrated in the recent Championship match against Middlesbrough, where he managed just 18 touches and lost possession 10 times.
| Mason Burstow’s Championship statistics this season (as per SofaScore) | |||||||||
| Matches played | 15 | ||||||||
| Games started | 10 | ||||||||
| Minutes per game | 50 | ||||||||
| Goals | 1 | ||||||||
| Assists | 1 | ||||||||
| Shots per game | 0.7 | ||||||||
| Shots on target per game | 0.4 | ||||||||
| Goal conversion rate | 10% | ||||||||
| Touches per game | 16.5 | ||||||||
| Possession lost per game | 5.7 | ||||||||
Chelsea may find themselves disappointed with a player they hold in high regard at Stamford Bridge. With his contract set to expire this summer, it was seen as an opportunity for him to showcase his talents either for potential suitors or to carve out a path to the first team.
While this hasn’t materialized thus far in the season, there are still 16 games remaining for Burstow to leave a mark. It’s essential to bear in mind that he is still in the early stages of his professional career.
However, a move to the Championship might have been premature for him, particularly at a club like Sunderland, which requires a consistent goal scorer to fulfill their promotion aspirations this season.