Tony Mowbray insists Leon Dajaku has a part to play for Sunderland - despite admitting he has found it tough to fit the German into his side. Dajaku spent last season on loan on Wearside from Union Berlin and the Black Cats' promotion from League One trigggered a permanent transfer.
But the former Germany U19 international has struggled for gametime, making only two starts and a handful of substitute appearances in the Championship. Dajaku arrived as a winger but faces stiff competition from the likes of Patrick Roberts, Jack Clarke, Amad, and Jewison Bennette in those wide positions.
More recently 21-year-old has been used as a central striker during the absences of Ross Stewart and Ellis Simms through injury, but it is clear that he is not really suited to that role. "He's got some good attributes and he needs to get his confidence levels up," Mowbray said of Dajaku.
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"He needs to believe in himself. He has got a rocket in his right foot which he doesn't show anybody enough - I watch him in training and he can take the net off the goals with the power in his right foot, and yet have you ever seen it?
"I keep saying 'when you get on your right foot, shoot!' I see it in training and it's amazing. If anything, he tries a bit too hard. And is he a central striker? Does he want to play wide?
"He's got some competition if he wants to play wide in this team. The opportunity was there to play him centre-forward but I'm not sure he is comfortable with his back to goal, he needs the ball in front of him chasing onto it.
"It's trying to see the players you've got and how you're going to put them into the team in the way we're going to play. I think he is just falling a little bit inbetween because he is not a back-to-goal centre-forward who can hold people off and bring people in, yet he probably hasn't got the blistering speed that you need to really threaten the space behind them."
Dajaku's two starts came in the draw at Luton ten days ago, and then in the win at Huddersfield a week ago. At Luton he began on the right wing before switching to play through the centre, before coming off after an hour.
And at Huddersfield he was taken off at half-time, with Simms brought on and the on-loan Everton striker - a natural centre-forward - made an immediate difference with the Black Cats offering a much greater goal threat. Mowbray said: "He's been around the squad and he's helped us.
"I took him off at half-time the other day [at Huddersfield] but he had worked hard enough, yet a proper centre-forward coming on you could see made the difference."
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