Striker puts transfer situation on ice until Sunderland's survival battle is decided

January capture Dame N'Doye insists any consideration over his future has to be shelved while Sunderland are in the thick of the relegation battle.
On-loan Sunderland striker Dame N'DoyeOn-loan Sunderland striker Dame N'Doye
On-loan Sunderland striker Dame N'Doye

Striker N’Doye arrived on loan until the end of the season last month, with an option for a permanent move from Turkish side Trabzonspor if he proves to be a success for Sunderland.

The 31-year-old endured a miserable time in Turkey after joining in a £2.2million deal from relegated Hull City last summer and will look to leave his parent club in the close season.

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But the prospect of Sunderland extending N’Doye’s stay at the Stadium of Light will revolve around which division the Black Cats are in next season, and the Senegal international insists that his situation has to go on the back-burner under that threat of the drop.

He told the Gazette: “At the moment, it’s about the team and staying in the Premier League.

“For myself, we’ll see what happens after that.

“The Turkish league is good, but I just didn’t adapt there.

“That was the reason why I left.”

N’Doye did his chances of earning a longer Sunderland stay no harm with an impressive display in the 2-1 win over Manchester United 11 days ago, despite being used as a makeshift right-winger.

In his first two substitute outings for Sunderland, N’Doye had looked rusty, but on his full debut for the Black Cats, he was a far more assured figure.

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And N’Doye says he has no issue at playing out of position on the wing, despite predominantly making his name as a central striker.

“I follow the coach. If he needs me there (wide), it is no problem for me,” said N’Doye.

“It’s not that I don’t mind where I play, but it is where the team needs me.

“The way we are now, we need someone to play out wide and we have to deal with that.”

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That win over United left Sunderland just one point adrift of safety, ahead of this Saturday’s visit to Sam Allardyce’s former club West Ham (12.45pm kick-off).

N’Doye insists there is a confident mood in the Sunderland dressing room that the Black Cats can avoid the drop, although he is wary of bold predictions after suffering relegation at Hull.

“There’s a good atmosphere in the dressing room and the lads are very focused,” he added.

“They have a strong mentality that they will stay up, which is the most important thing.

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“I wouldn’t say the mentality was bad at Hull. We didn’t believe we were going down.

“Maybe we fell away in some games, which is why we went down.

“But God decides. You cannot change that!

“Every year, you work hard to stay in the Premier League.

“Nobody expects to go down, but someone has to.

“I didn’t want to be relegated at Hull, but it happened.

“Now it’s a new challenge and I have to forget about that and concentrate to stay up.”