Sunderland kick off their 2023/24 Championship campaign with a match against newly-promoted Ipswich Town at the Stadium of Light next month.
When will Ross Stewart return from injury?
The Black Cats' only senior centre-forward, Ross Stewart, has been out with an Achilles injury since January and it has been reported that he will not be fit for the start of the season.
Tony Mowbray confirmed that the Scotland international has been back out on the grass but is yet to make a return to full team training and is not set to feature against the Tractor Boys on the opening day.
This means that 19-year-old summer signing Luis Semedo could be in line to start up front after his move from Benfica B, despite having yet to make a single senior competitive appearance in his career to date.
Sporting director Kristjaan Speakman and Mowbray could land a dream addition to partner the Portuguese youngster in the attack by bringing Amad Diallo back for a second spell on loan from Manchester United.
The Chronicle recently reported that the Black Cats are monitoring his situation as the Red Devils remain undecided on what they are going to do with him this season, whilst Leicester City and Leeds United are also said to be interested in the young talent.
How many goals did Amad Diallo score last season?
Amad, who was utilised on the right and through the middle as a number ten at times, plundered 14 goals in 29 Championship starts for the club.
The Ivory Coast international, whose talent was dubbed "exceptional" by journalist Josh Bunting, ended the season as Sunderland's top scorer as he managed four more than any other player, with Ross Stewart (ten) the only other attacker who hit double figures.
Only Jack Clarke (21) was directly involved in more goals than the United loanee (17) for the club in the second tier, which illustrates the huge impact he made during his temporary spell at the Stadium of Light.
The 21-year-old whiz has proven himself to be capable of being a reliable scorer for the Black Cats at Championship level. He would, therefore, alleviate some pressure off Semedo's shoulders by providing a significant goal threat in the number ten position behind the teenage marksman.
Amad could arrive and be the go-to man for goals in Stewart's continued absence, starting with the match against Ipswich, if Sunderland are able to secure another deal for the talented youngster.
Having a player of the £28k-per-week dynamo's quality, along with Clarke, who scored nine league goals last season, could help Semedo to settle into the season instead of feeling the pressure to need to hit the ground running as the starting number nine.
The 19-year-old ace scored an impressive 21 goals in 44 games for Benfica's U23 side and managed ten goals in 14 Youth League outings prior to his switch to England.
This suggests that the potential is there for him to be a regular scorer but he is yet to prove himself in a senior environment, which is why having the likes of Clarke and Amad to carry the immediate goalscoring burden this season would be a dream situation for him.