Premiership New Boys: Sylvan Ebanks-Blake

Posted by Trevor Cassidy in Featured Articles, Players, Premiership, Premiership New Boys on July 8th, 2009 | 8 responses

No Benzema? No Ribery? No Kaka? No problem. Despite the most high-profile transfer targets turning their backs on the English game, a wealth of exciting new talent is coming to the Premiership next season. Footy Factor will be taking a closer look at some of these players in the next few weeks. First up…

Sylvan Ebanks-Blake

Club: Wolverhampton Wanderers. (Signed from Plymouth in a big money £1.5 million move in January 2008 – well… big money for the Championship at least.)

Age: 23

Honors: Ebanks-Blake won the golden boot in the Championship for the past two seasons, scoring 37 league goals in 61 appearances for Wolves, while leading them into the top flight.

Pedigree: Perhaps it’s no surprise that Sylvan is at the front of the pack since his father named him after a winning racehorse that he had backed close to the day his son was born. Oh, and one more thing… Sylvan was a trainee at Manchester United, studying under the tutelage of strikers like Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The Upside: Ebanks-Blake possesses an incredible burst of pace and strength. He has the knack of always being in the box and getting a shot away, even with his back to goal. With his great composure, he’s capable of scoring all types of goals.

The Downside: His physique barely toes the line between brawny and beefy – and that tends to show in his overall fitness. He’s very much focused on being the goal scorer and does not get involved in build-up play.

International future: The Cambridge-born lad missed out on the recent Under-21 Championships because of an injury. He’ll have to continue his prolific form if he’s to play himself into Fabio Capello’s squad – although for now, similarly-aged rivals Gabriel Agbonlahor and Theo Walcott probably have the advantage considering their experience in the Premier League.

Best goal: The second of his two at Charlton Athletic in March of last year demonstrated the best of his talents. Sit back and enjoy.