Jay Matete made his debut for Bolton Wanderers during their 2-1 win over Leyton Orient at the weekend.
The midfielder joined the League One club on loan earlier this week after being unable to force his way into the Sunderland squad for a second successive season.
Matete has previously left Wearside on loan twice, with both going in very different directions.
The 23-year-old quickly became a fan favourite at Plymouth Argyle as he helped them to the League One title, while he managed only three starts for Oxford before his loan was terminated due to injury.
Matete has arrived at Bolton with the hope of winning a second promotion and catching Regis Le Bris’ eye, as his opportunities at the Stadium of Light begin to dwindle.
The Fleetwood Town academy graduate settled for a place on the bench for Bolton, after failing to make a competitive appearance since before he was sidelined in February.
Matete was brought on to make his debut after 71 minutes though and quickly attracted attention from supporters.
Despite featuring for less than 20 minutes, he completed 100% of his passes, had one shot and made one interception.
Matete made a really good first impression on Bolton fans, with many of them taking to social media to share their thoughts on his debut.
- READ MORE: Jude Bellingham sends three-word message to brother Jobe that every Sunderland fan will really love
Bolton Wanderers fans react to Matete debut
Does Matete still have a future at Sunderland?
It’s a really promising sign for Sunderland, who are yet to get the best out of Matete for themselves.
The midfielder has been excellent in League One though, and if he hadn’t got injured at Oxford then he could well have ended this season with four successive promotions under his belt.
If he can dazzle at Bolton this term then there should be a real chance for him to make his mark on Wearside, as he still hasn’t really been given a proper shot in the Championship.
Matete only turned 23 years old this year and it is easy to forget that he still has so many years left to progress and develop as a player.
He desperately needs to have a good season with Bolton though, as it is very easy to fall behind given how talented some of Sunderland’s midfielders are at such a young age already.