Sunderland fan-favourite Luke O’Nien has heaped praise on fellow teammate Chris Mepham.
The Black Cats were held to a goalless stalemate at the weekend on their travels to Queens Park Rangers.
On the attacking front, Sunderland weren’t quite up to their usual tricks, with Wilson Isidor uncharacteristically looking quiet when leading the line for the Black Cats.
Sunderland’s job of coming away from London with all three points was made difficult following a decision by the referee to hand Jobe Bellingham a red card, which means that he will be absent for three games.
On the other hand, Regis Le Bris’ side yet again put in a superb effort defensively, with Dennis Cirkin notching yet another wonderful performance from left-back.
Sunderland defender and club captain Luke O’Nien has also been a key part of the defence, and he has delivered praise towards his fellow centre-back Chris Mepham after they notched yet another clean sheet.
Sunderland star Luke O’Nien gives Chris Mepham ‘superb’ verdict
The Black Cats managed to accumulate their 8th clean sheet in only 13 games against Queens Park Rangers, and whilst there was little attacking firepower to deal with on this time out, the likes of O’Nien and Mepham proved to be a solid centre-back partnership yet again.
Mepham has been highly regarded since he joined from Bournemouth on loan, and now his fellow Sunderland teammate is the latest person to heap praise on the Welsh international.
Per Sunderland Echo, O’Nien said: “Superb. Bloody magnificent, Chris is.
“I think it’s echoed by everybody around the place and all the fans, he’s just magic to play next to and as a person as well, the way he adds to the group and the culture is he’s a really, really good guy.
“His performances speak for themselves. It is really enjoyable playing next to him.
“Trai, Dennis, we’ve got players in training that are pushing us every day because they want to come in as well. Leo [Hjelde] came on and every time he’s come on, he’s done really, really well as well.
“We’ve got a real good group and we’ve just got to keep pushing each other.”
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Chris Mepham stats this season show how pivotal he has been
In the eight starts made by the 26-year-old, it has been clear that the Black Cats are lucky to have such a composed and trustworthy centre-back in their side, and one that many have been left confused as to why he made the drop down from the Premier League in the first place.
The stats certainly back up how pivotal he has been up until this point as well, as, per SofaScore, Mepham has managed 4.6 clearances, 4.4 balls recovered and 1.5 tackles per game.
He is also yet to tally a single error leading to a shot, and has only been dribbled past 0.4 times per game.
All signs point towards him being solid as a rock for Sunderland so far in this campaign, and it could prove to be a double-edged sword with him only being at the club on loan, but whilst he is here, it is safe to say that fans in Wearside are making the most of his impeccable performances.