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At times over the summer, with Luis Suarez angling for a move and questions about Daniel Sturridge's fitness, Liverpool fans have asked questions about the club's depth at striker. As if to underline that the club and manager Brendan Rodgers don't see it as an issue—and perhaps to serve as confirmation that Suarez is in fact going nowhere between now and 11PM in England tomorrow night when the transfer window closes—it is being widely reported today that Fabio Borini is on the verge of heading out to Sunderland on a season-long loan.
The 22-year-old striker arrived at Anfield last season from Roma for £10.5M, having previously worked with Rodgers at Swansea and in the Chelsea youth academy, but a series of injuries undermined any chance he had of making an impact. Already this season, with new signing Iago Aspas appearing to have jumped past Borini on the depth chart and the young Italian not even able to see action against Notts County in the League Cup, it has grown increasingly clear Borini isn't likely to get many chances to impress at Liverpool.
With Sunderland struggling to find goals in the early going, a chance to impress under manager Paolo Di Canio at the Stadium of Light would seem to make sense for all parties. Borini is still young enough to emerge as a top striker if he can move past the injuries that have plagued his return to English football and build on the promise shown from his days at Chelsea through his time at Roma, but in order to do that he will need to play regularly—and at Liverpool that simply wouldn't have been possible.
At Sunderland, Borini will compete for time in an attack including Steven Fletcher, Connor Wickham, and Jozy Altidore. Following his arrest earlier this week on suspicion of drunk driving and having fallen out of favour with the manager, it is expected that Stephane Sessegnon's departure is imminent, with Qatar side El Jaish seeming the most likely destination.
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