Brian Brobbey Must Overcome the 'Eredivisie Curse' to Succeed at Sunderland

Brian Brobbey joined Sunderland from Ajax as a last-minute signing in the recent transfer window but has struggled to meet expectations on the pitch, with historical trends suggesting he may not succeed at the club. Following a Premier League defeat to Manchester United, Brobbey made his third appearance of the season as a substitute, maintaining his role off the bench since his arrival.

Sunderland coach Le Bris, when questioned by Sunderland Echo about Brobbey's lack of starts, stated that the Dutch striker needs to "step up to the league," highlighting the significant differences between the Eredivisie and the Premier League. According to SofaScore, Brobbey's season has started slowly, with only 64 minutes played across three games, no full matches completed, and no goals or assists recorded.

Sunderland's signing of Brobbey is considered risky, given a history of prolific Eredivisie strikers failing to perform in England, such as Vincent Janssen and Jürgen Locadia. The last successful example was Graziano Pellè over a decade ago. Brobbey now faces the challenge of either breaking this negative trend by emulating Pellè's success or becoming another failed transfer, reinforcing the notion that Eredivisie forwards struggle at the elite level.