Kenwyne Jones may have only scored eight goals for the Black Cats last season, yet he was worth his weight in gold when it came to unsettling opposition defences and holding the ball up. Indeed, many have referred to the Sunderland forward as ‘the new Drogba’ which may be a touch premature and is also slightly offensive in that Jones doesn’t appear to have an attitude problem or link his future away from the Stadium of Light every other day.

Therefore, the news (courtesy of the Daily Mail) that the former Southampton man is crocked until 2009 is a bitter blow for the Black Cats, with Roy Keane citing Jones as a key player for his team last term. What’s worse is that the knee ligament injury came about as a result of playing for Trinidad & Tobago against England.

Keane is already sizing up Spurs’ Darren Bent but will be furious at the way Jones was injured. The striker hurt his knee challenging goalkeeper David James in the Port-of-Spain game two weeks ago that was generally dismissed as a PR exercise to try to gain votes for England’s 2018 World Cup bid.

It would be a tough old ask to bring Darren Bent to Wearside, especially as he’s declared his intention to stay at White Hart Lane (unless Juande tells him to shove off). Nevertheless, it’s a conundrum for Keane all the same, who will be looking for another player in the Jones mould who is difficult for defenders to handle. Who should he be signing Sunderland fans?