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“Sunderland”The team’s reputation for giving local youngsters plenty of chances in the first team has taken a backseat this season.
Régis Le Bris I had to realize that this young and hungry approach needed to be slightly modified when competing in the Premier Leaguewith experience appreciated in summer, including paddling £13m for midfielder Granit Xhaka.
That’s not to say there isn’t room for some local prodigies to still try to shine in his starting XI, with Chris Rigg – who enjoyed an outstanding senior season under the Frenchman’s last campaign – present from the start against Brighton and Hove Albion last time out.
Rigg even crossed paths with another starlet who had his first chance to impress at the Stadium of Light at the Amex in Tommy Watson, with the 19-year-old’s first team journey on Wearside unfolding like a surreal blur.
Watson’s whirlwind Sunderland story
In a summer that saw Sunderland net a whopping £32million by selling Jobe Bellingham to Borussia Dortmund, the sale of Watson to Brighton and Hove Albion managed to go unnoticed.
Yet a whopping £10 million was paid to the Black Cats for the raw forward, despite only 921 minutes of senior football being handed to him at his boyhood club.
There were some obvious standout moments though, when Watson ended up scoring that Incredible strike at Wembley to secure Sunderland’s emotional return to the Premier League.
Watson will forever be immortalized as the hero who sealed the Black Cats’ spectacular return to the Premier League, but that magical moment must have been tinged with a certain bittersweetness, as the number 40 knew he had already committed to a move to the Seagulls when he scored that sweet strike.
Unfortunately, since his departure, game time has yet to come at the Amex with EFL Cup appearances here and there all he has been getting started on the south coast so far.
But, away from the England U21 international’s ongoing story, Le Bris will fear another Watson-style situation is playing out in front of him right now.
Sunderland facing a repeat of Watson
Forking out £162million for a host of proven top-flight talents this summer has some downsides, as Le Bris now face a struggle to retain the vast majority of their bloated camp content.
Heading into the new Premier League season following his promotion, Eliezer Mayenda would have hoped to have plenty of opportunities to dazzle after playing a key role in Sunderland’s promotion story, alongside Watson.
Sky Sports pundit Luke Chambers would even hail him as a “first class” The EFL’s talent last season scored ten goals, including two in the nerve-wracking playoffs, with the Spanish U21 international’s versatile nature to play as a striker or winger also making him a solid option for the team, when they embark on a survival mission in the top league.
It unfortunately didn’t play out like that in reality, with Mayenda remaining rooted to the substitutes’ bench in his side’s last four games, while Championship sides such as Leicester City are tipped to sign him on loan in January.
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Mayenda in 24/25 vs 25/26 |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Statistical |
24/25 |
25/26 |
|
Games played |
41 |
8 |
|
The games have started |
25 |
3 |
|
Minutes played |
2451 minutes |
264 minutes |
|
Goals scored |
10 |
1 |
|
Aids |
5 |
0 |
|
Coming from Transfer market |
||
It surely seemed even crueler on Mayenda’s side, given that he scored Sunderland’s first Premier League goal, only to be dropped in favor of flashier signings that arrived at the Stadium of Light.
Therefore, a Watson-style scenario could soon occur, with the Zaragoza-born striker once would be a target for Premier League teamseven before Sunderland’s dramatic day at Wembley.
If Mayenda were to show the same electric form that helped the Black Cats return to the promised land with a new loan employer, it might not be the craziest suggestion in the world to state that a top-flight club could take a gamble and offer Sunderland a very tempting offer down the line, like Brighton’s £10million splurge for Watson.
With the Africa Cup of Nations also reducing the number of options for Le Bris’ first team, there is a sense that the Premier League newcomers are missing out by not giving the more senior 20-year-old a chance to impress, hoping his impatience does not lead to him leaving Le Bris’ men prematurely.
