Adil Aouchiche certainly wasn’t a very familiar name on Wearside when Sunderland began their pursuit only days before the transfer window shut.
The Frenchman was one of a number of attackers that had been mentioned as the Black Cats rushed to bolster their ranks, though the completion of his signing seemed to move very quickly.
While the likes of Mason Burstow, Nazariy Rusyn and Jobe Bellingham may have distracted the fans attention, Adil Aouchiche has arguably become one of the club’s most exciting prospects in recent months.
The midfielder picked up an assist on his debut against QPR and has since been limited to cameo appearances, but he may well have forced a breakthrough after bagging his first goal at the weekend.
It has been about a month since I already called for Aouchiche to be included in the starting line-up, as it really didn’t take him very long at all to settle in and begin to really impress supporters.
An unfortunate injury meant he missed his opportunity against Leicester City, but his performance against Birmingham has surely been implanted into Tony Mowbray‘s head over the international break.
Aouchiche was only on the pitch for the final 16 minutes, but he managed to claim the third goal, complete the most key passes in the game (4) and enjoyed 100% pass accuracy.
The 21-year-old looks perfectly comfortable in this team now and there surely isn’t much more he can do before he gets a chance from the start.
No doubt Aouchiche will be looking to catch Mowbray’s eye during the international break, while it seems like the perfect opportunity to hand him his big chance against Plymouth Argyle.
Mowbray has already admitted that Jobe needs a break and Aouchiche provides him with a ready-made replacement, who will be raring to go after getting off the mark against the Blues.
Sunderland have a number of brilliant attacking midfielders vying for a place in the team, but it would be a huge surprise to me if anyone manages to take Aouchiche’s place once he has a few starts under his belt.