Sunderland’s captain admired the efforts of a young winger who has ‘come back flying’.
Sunderland are well underway with their pre-season preparations ahead of the 2024/25 Championship campaign.
New manager Regis Le Bris will be hoping his side will be able to put the disappointing 2023/24 season behind them, where they finished in an unsatisfactory 16th place.
Morale will be up on Wearside ahead of the new season, with star player Jobe Bellingham committing his future to the club, as well as the increasingly likely arrival of Alan Browne, who has been released by Preston North End.
However, only one confirmed arrival in Simon Moore has arrived ahead of the new season so far, currently leaving the squad of players from last season battling for a spot in Le Bris’ plans.
Sunderland captain Luke O’Nien has been impressed with the progress being made by the squad ahead of the new season, with one young player impressing the defender.
Luke O’Nien impressed by Sunderland winger Romaine Mundle in pre-season
O’Nien has been very optimistic around Sunderland’s initial pre-season training, but one player that has caught his eye is Sunderland winger Romaine Mundle.
Speaking to The Chronicle, O’Nien said: “The running team have been putting us through our paces back on the grass and in the gym as well.
“The boys are looking sharp. Some boys have come back flying and are setting the standards.
“Romaine [Mundle] has come back and when he gets a ball at his feet, he’s dangerous, so he’s making me a better defender from day one.
“The boys are looking good, and it has been very enjoyable so far.”
Sunderland are set to play two away friendlies against South Shields and Gateshead this Saturday, which will indicate who else has impressed so far in pre-season.
Regis Le Bris is getting the best out of his young squad
Sunderland winger Mundle featured regularly in the latter stages of the 2023/24 campaign, however was unable to make a significant impact having scored just one goal in 11 appearances.
Many of Sunderland’s young players struggled to make a difference last season, however it seems that Le Bris has helped turn a new leaf for his squad, who appear to be fighting for a spot in the team.
Le Bris was of course brought in as a result of his catalogue of work involved in youth coaching with Lorient, of which will likely see the Frenchman get the best out of the young squad with an average age of 23.
That fight and commitment that O’Nien has spotted from the group was rarely evident last season, which shows that Le Bris and his coaching staff have made that difference with the squad, something that will hopefully feed into their performances at the start of the season as they look to massively improve from their last campaign.