Leon Dajaku’s position at Sunderland after disappointing St Gallen transfer as questions remain

Sunderland winger Leon Dajaku is nearing the end of his loan spell at Swiss side St Gallen - but how has he fared?

The 22-year-old made the temporary switch in January to try and gain more first-team experience.

To find out more, we caught up with Swiss football expert Oliver Zesiger to ask about Dajaku’s time at St Gallen.

How would you assess Dajaku’s loan spell at St Gallen?

OZ: “He started out strong, then slowly faded into obscurity.

“He assisted a goal in only his second game and played good minutes in the beginning. But then in March, minutes started to drop.

“He was sent off twice with a second booking and a straight red for hitting a player in the face in April, which seemed to seal his fate. He’s never featured much after those two sending-offs.

“In the end, the loan spell can only be described as a disappointment.”

What position and system has he been playing in?

OZ: “St. Gallen plays in 4-4-2 Diamond formation but with a third striker instead of a number 10. He mostly occupied the third striker role, occasionally playing as one of the two strikers up top.

“The thing is, he doesn’t seem to have a clear profile. Is he a centre forward? Is he a second striker? Or is he even a winger? I’m not sure even he can tell, which makes it hard to find the right role for him.”

Could St Gallen try to re-sign him this summer?

OZ: “He has already said his goodbyes to the team and won’t feature in the final two games. So that’s a resounding no.”

Do you think the loan spell at St Gallen has benefitted his career?

OZ: “I think there’s opportunity in every failure.

“If he draws the right conclusions from it, it could benefit his career. But in a sporting sense, I don’t think he’s progressed at St. Gallen.

“I believe that the main question surrounding him is his profile. Once he gets regular playing time in one position, he could progress. But St. Gallen was the wrong club for this.”