Who is Max Thompson? Sunderland's ex-Burnley striker profiled as fans call for start

Thompson was tipped for big things while at Burnley and signed a new deal under Sean Dyche with the intention to break into the first team but he ended up being released before joining Sunderland.

There have been issues at Thompson’s new club after Ross Stewart pulled up during Sunderland’s warm-up at the Riverside Stadium against Middlesbrough. The Scot will likely be out until after the World Cup.

Stewart’s strike partner this season, Ellis Simms, then limped off during the Reading game and hasn’t been seen since, although he is now back training.

Tony Mowbray’s lack of strikers has caused problems, with Alex Pritchard and Jack Clarke having to lead the line as Sunderland struggled without a proper focal point against Preston, Blackpool and Swansea.

That has prompted Sunderland fans to call for the inclusion of Thompson in the side, but who is he and what are supporters and Tony Mowbray saying about him?

Max Thompson – fact file

Nationality: English

Former clubs: Manchester United, Everton, Burnley

Age: 20-years-old

Place of birth: Macclesfield

Position: Striker

Height: 5ft 11in

Career senior appearances (all comps): 1

What are Sunderland fans saying about Max Thompson?

Many Sunderland fans are calling for the inclusion of Thompson up front in order to provide Sunderland with a specialist in the striker position, and someone who can hold the ball up and bring the club’s creative players into the game.

Indeed, in a poll conducted by The Echo on Twitter, 49 per cent of fans voted in favour of Thompson starting as Sunderland’s striker against Wigan Athletic.

Jack Clarke received 37.9 per cent and Alex Pritchard received 8.5 per cent of the vote.

What has Tony Mowbray said about the possibility of playing Max Thompson up front?

"He has trained with us on a few occasions,” Mowbray said: “I'm just a bit wary of the critical nature of the position and exposing a player to it. I know that he has played in the Premier League with Burnley but right now does look a little bit young and raw to me.

"The Championship can be quite a brutal division and I wouldn't want to put him into the team at the wrong time, I'd rather put him into a team that is flourishing and scoring, and a time when I know all about the team and so I'm not gambling on putting someone in who I don't know enough about.

“He's done well in the training but I'm a strong believer that the position is about movement and understanding where the space on the pitch is.

"I believe strikers are all about positional play, knowing where to go on the pitch and knowing the capabilities of players on the ball and what type of pass they are going to play. When I watch him in training, I think he needs to learn these things, he's almost a bit too honest at the moment in his movements.

"The great strikers find space in the box and young players need to learn that, and that's where Max is at the moment."