Martin O’Neill revealed today that Nathan Delfouneso will be travelling out to Portugal tomorrow to link up with the rest of squad and he’s hoping the striker can play some part in Sunday night’s match against Benfica at least. Even if he doesn’t play this weekend, just being with the squad and not stuck at home is good for him ahead of the new season.

The same thinking applies to James Collins who is nursing his calf, but a little Algarve sunshine, golf and team bonding can work wonders I hear.

It’s funny how quickly things can change. Unable to field a recognised striker until young James Collins came on for the final third of the first pre-season game against Basingstoke, MON now has his complete strike force at his disposal; Agbonlahor, Carew, Heskey, Delfouneso and Weimann.

With Delfouneso and, to a lesser degree, Weimann both trying to force their way into MON’s first team plans, it does beg the question about the likelihood of any new strikers joining without someone heading for the exit door.

Incidentally, Sunderland played Benfica on Tuesday and were beaten 2-0, with the Portuguese side putting in a very impressive performance from all accounts. It might be an interesting benchmark to see how we compare so soon afterward. Steve Bruce fielded a 4-5-1 with Kenwyne Jones ploughing the lone furrow, but with 5 strikers at his disposal, MON is surely more likely to field 2 up top.