Victor Anichebe flew to Los Angeles in May and spent the next three months soaking up the California sunshine. The 28-year-old striker had just been released by West Bromwich Albion after what can politely be put as an unproductive, non‑scoring season under Tony Pulis and Premier League clubs were not exactly queuing up for his services.
Convinced of his own ability, the powerfully built 6ft 3in former Everton forward hired a personal trainer in LA, working out three times a day with the celebrity fitness guru Nicky Holender. “We didn’t train at Muscle beach, though,” he said. “Just football places.”
In between sessions he watched with interest as David Moyes, his former manager at Goodison Park, succeeded Sam Allardyce at Sunderland and then struggled to sign a striker to complement and/or understudy Jermain Defoe. When one did not materialise Moyes picked up the phone and in September Anichebe was installed on Wearside.
Fast forward a slow-burn couple of months and he has confounded his critics by scoring three goals in two games, the latter pair at home against Hull City on Saturday in a 3-0 victory that finally lifted Sunderland off the bottom of the Premier League and simultaneously pushed Mike Phelan’s side back into deep trouble.
“Victor was like a young Didier Drogba,” Moyes said. “He was immense.” The admiration is mutual. “Everyone knows I’ve got this love for David,” Anichebe said. “I had a lot of bigger money offers from abroad but I always wanted to come back and play for this manager.”
Aware Moyes was sceptical about his physical condition, Anichebe emailed him videos of those workouts. Yet having convinced the Scot to offer him another chance, initial progress was slow. “I felt great but it wasn’t match fitness,” says a man who struggled so hard to score in one early training session that everyone – team-mates, coaching and medical staff – broke into relieved applause when he finally managed to hit the back of the net.
Anichebe, who has scored in successive league games for the first time since 2012, has never been prolific but he proved integral to Sunderland’s first win of the season at Bournemouth two weeks ago and emphasised his importance against a Hull defence who, at times, found him unplayable.
When action recommenced following a dusky 10-minute second-half hiatus caused by a power cut and the need to connect the floodlights to a generator, Anichebe truly stepped out of the shadows. His first goal came when he dodged Josh Tymon and beat David Marshall at the near post; the second from a Defoe pass when his first touch took him away from a defender before he lashed home a thunderous shot.
Indeed Moyes’s bravery in pairing Defoe – who opened the scoring with his 150th Premier League goal – and Anichebe in a flexible 4-4-2 formation threatens to destabilise the best centre-halves. “I always wanted to play with Jermain and I also wanted to taste what it’s like to play in the north-east,” said a forward with scope to drift deeper and left when needed.
“I’d heard how passionate the fans are and that sort of support really drives you on. At times against Hull we were dead on our feet but the crowd pushed us on. Subconsciously, it really helps. And this club has great facilities, there’s no comparison with West Brom, the facilities here are different class.”
Indeed he seems rather indifferent towards life at The Hawthorns. “I wasn’t being played much but I wasn’t bothered because it gave me time to concentrate on my body. On getting stronger. I tried to turn a bad time into a good time – and I always remembered the belief David Moyes has in me.”
