Sunderland striker Wilson Isidor has admitted that he sees himself as a “Mackem now” following his summer loan move to the Stadium of Light from Zenit Saint Petersburg.
The French forward has wasted little time endearing himself to the Black Cats’ fanbase, both on and off the pitch. With five goals to his name, he is Sunderland’s top scorer so far this season, while his personality and willingness to embrace life in the North East have proven to be popular with supporters as well.
It would appear, however, that Isidor still has a little way to go before he has fully mastered the lingo of Wearside. In a video shared via the club’s social channels, the 24-year-old and teammate Dennis Cirkin were given a series of colloquialisms and asked to identify what they meant. While some words, such as “bairn”, “marra”, and “paggered” stumped the duo somewhat, one phrase that Isidor was absolutely certain on was “ha’way”.
When asked for a translation, the attacker responded: “Ha’way? It’s like, ‘Come on, guys. Let’s go… Let’s go’. Ha’way, the lads. When I signed, I saw it right in the stadium, with the seats. You feel it, and when they say it to you, you understand what they want and mean. Yeah, I’m a Mackem now.”
Isidor has previously made no secret of his desire to stay with Sunderland beyond the expiration of his loan deal at the end of the season. Speaking last month, he said: “I am on loan but with an optional buy. But no, for me, I want to continue with Sunderland and write the club into my career and my history.”
In the same interview, the striker also expressed his appreciation for the Black Cats’ faithful, adding: “They are amazing. I was in Zenit and Zenit has a stadium of about 75,000 and even if the Stadium of Light is a bit smaller than this stadium, you feel it. Everything you do when you tackle, when you make a good action and when you score that’s amazing.”
