Timothee Pembele made his Sunderland debut in yesterday’s draw with Rotherham United.
The 21-year-old made eleven league appearances for Paris Saint-Germain and also made his Champions League debut in 2020, playing alongside the likes of Neymar, Marquinhos and Kylian Mbappe.
Three years later, Timothee Pembele somehow ended up signing for Sunderland on a five-year deal that will see him rake in £7,600 a week.
The Frenchman arrived on Wearside with a poor injury record though and was sidelined for three months before featuring for Sunderland U-21s in their defeat to Arsenal last week.
Pembele was named on the bench in the senior team’s win over Hull City, before finally making his long-awaited debut as he replaced Jenson Seelt on the hour mark.
After making his first appearance for the Black Cats, the full-back took to Instagram to share his delight.
Alongside a photo of him playing against Rotherham, Pembele wrote: “Finally… Ready to rewrite my story on the pitch. Thanks for the support. #momentos.”
Having not featured in a senior game since March, Pembele had a fairly quiet debut at the New York Stadium.
The former PSG youngster had one shot on target, completed six passes and two dribbles, as well as making one clearance.
Will Timothee Pembele make his mark on the first team?
Timothee Pembele clearly has a lot of talent to have actually been featuring for Paris Saint-Germain last season, but it would have been a huge surprise to see him immediately take centre stage in the Championship.
Playing at Rotherham United on a Friday night is going to be very different to playing in Paris, and that is without having been sidelined for most of the year.
With Niall Huggins out for the rest of the season, Pembele will surely be given a good chance on the first team and could well add a much-needed attacking threat on the right-hand side.
Though the return of Aji Alese will certainly challenge him for his place, while Dennis Cirkin is still to come back too.
Trai Hume seems pretty irreplaceable after an exceptional season, but it is still really good to see us gaining some options in the backline after what has been a difficult few months at the Stadium of Light.