Tony Mowbray has applauded Eliezer Mayenda for his brilliant impression in training.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference this week, the Sunderland boss admitted that Mayenda is closing in on his senior debut after picking up an injury in the summer.
The Spaniard made 15 appearances for Sochaux in Ligue 2 last season before joining Sunderland on a five-year contract back in July, with the Championship club coughing up around €1 million (£870k) for his signature.
There was a lot of excitement around Mayenda’s arrival, however he couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start after suffering a hamstring injury in his first training session on Wearside.
The teenager has spent almost three months out of action but has recently made his comeback to training and has been really impressing Mowbray ahead of his return.
“Eliezer looks so exciting to me in training,” Mowbray said.
“I was just watching the last bit of a small-sided game in training with one of the coaches, and he is super powerful and dynamic. He’s got a rocket in his left foot and I think he is going to catch a few people out when we put him on the pitch. I think the fans should be excited by how dynamic he is.
“We’ll have to wait and see, and I shouldn’t really be building him up when he hasn’t had a chance to show it on the pitch yet but I’m just telling you what I’m watching in training: strong, quick, powerful. Hopefully he can do the damage when he’s fit and available.”
Eliezer Mayenda is nearing his Sunderland debut
Mowbray admitted that he will resist throwing Mayenda into the first team and will instead let him feature for the U21s at first. However, he did reveal that the 18-year-old is likely to be fit after the international break and could make his debut in two or three weeks.
Sunderland have brought in some very exciting young talents this year, with both Nazariy Rusyn and Adil Aouchiche looking very bright in their cameo appearances.
Mayenda is another one that fans have been really looking forward to seeing and it is a real shame that he hasn’t had the same opportunity as his fellow summer signings.
He will have to work hard to force his way into the first team set-up following an impressive run from the team, but it is great for Mowbray to have so many brilliant options in attack.