Sunderland are now without a win in their last six games in the Championship after a Friday night defeat to new league leaders Sheffield United.
The 1-0 loss that closed out a drab November for the Black Cats also meant that Regis Le Bris’ men had fired blanks in four out of six league contests in the harrowing month, as the strain of being near the top of the second tier pile continues to trouble the Wearside outfit.
Ultimately, the Frenchman will hope this is just a blip on the way to Sunderland rediscovering their best form down the line, as he attempts to get more out of his young squad across a hectic December.
The best of Sunderland's young team this season
Sunderland boasted the youngest average age of a lineup this season in the Championship, with the Black Cats XI that took to the field against Burnley at the end of August having an average age of just 22.7.
This approach of fielding up-and-coming youngsters paid off at the start of the campaign too, with the second-tier side’s only goal of the game against the Clarets coming courtesy of Romaine Mundle, as the 21-year-old went about breathing life back into his Sunderland playing days.
The former Tottenham Hotspur man has ended up being a shrewd replacement for Jack Clarke, with Mundle equally as tricky and slick for Le Bris’ men as their former star once was, having amassed four goals and two assists in the league before a recent injury setback.
Mundle has also been joined in midfield this season by Chris Rigg and Jobe Bellingham – who are only 17 and 19 years of age respectively – but are important parts of the jigsaw under the former Lorient boss’ guidance nonetheless.
That amazing back-heel finish is just one of three strikes Rigg has managed in Championship action, whilst Bellingham has two goals and one assist next to his name as another dangerous midfield presence.
Le Bris could be looking at what he has at his disposal in the U21 fold soon to try and uncover another young gem at the Stadium of Light, with a striker potentially the next in line for a senior opportunity.
Sunderland's next Maja is ready to be unleashed
Of course, unlike the examples above where Sunderland have managed to keep hold of the cream of the crop that come up the ranks, Josh Maja is one that left the Stadium of Light before he had fully blossomed.
The now 24-year-old departed Wearside in the summer of 2019 after an explosive vain of form saw him net 15 strikes during the 2018/19 season in League One from just 24 encounters, with his golden touch in front of goal not letting up this campaign for West Bromwich Albion.
Maja has ten strikes next to his name from 18 second-tier contests, with Wilson Isidor five goals off that total at the moment in league action as one of Sunderland’s main outlets.
Therefore, Le Bris might well want to experiment with his options up top and chuck 17-year-old Trey Samuel-Ogunsuyi in at the deep end soon, hoping he can be the club’s goalscoring sensation from the academy, just like Maja.
U18s
25
9
U21s
16
7
Senior team
0
0
Appearing on the bench here and there under the Frenchman, his first-ever appearance in the senior fold might well come about shortly, with Samuel-Ogunsuyi helping himself to eight goals from his last seven games playing for both the U18s and the U21s.
With Maja also helping himself to seven goals for the U21s before being bumped up to the first team, that could be what comes next for the “super” youngster – as he was labelled by football talent scout Antonio Mango recently.
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