Sunderland were boosted by the return of three first-team stars in the U21s’ defeat against Arsenal in Premier League 2.
It’s been all change at Sunderland in recent weeks. Tony Mowbray was sacked from his post two weeks ago with Mike Dodds taking over as interim manager, overseeing wins over West Bromwich Albion and Leeds United and a loss to Bristol City
Now, the club have announced that Michael Beale will be the long-term successor to Mowbray and it’s an appointment that has left supporters feeling underwhelmed.
Many hedged their bets on seeing Will Still take the managerial role, so Beale’s appointment yesterday has been met with huge backlash from Sunderland fans.
The 43-year-old was sacked from his role at Rangers in October after a disappointing ten months in Scotland which saw him fail to win silverware and lose four of his five Old Firm clashes.
Despite having a lot to prove at the Stadium of Light, his arrival has coincided with the return of three first-team stars.
Michael Beale hit with a major boost
When Beale watched the U21s lose 2-1 against Arsenal in Premier League 2, he would have been encouraged by the performance of Jenson Seelt and pleased to see long-term absentees, Aji Alese, Timothee Pembele and Jay Matete return to the field.
After arriving from PSG as a highly-rated defender in the summer, Pembele made his first appearance in a Sunderland shirt and lasted 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, centre-back Alese and midfielder Matete made their first appearances of the campaign, coming off the bench for the second period.
While Alese hadn’t featured since suffering a recurrence of a thigh injury in Sunderland’s play-off semi-final second-leg defeat at Luton Town, Matete had been out of action since damaging his knee cartilage on the club’s pre-season tour of the USA.
Will this trio get into Beale’s first-team plans?
After featuring 20 times last season, the injury to Alese, in particular, dealt Sunderland a huge blow.
Although Luke O’Nien stepped into the centre-back role in his absence, the 22-year-old showed promise before his injury and should therefore be under Beale’s consideration.
Matete, on the other hand, had a successful loan spell at Plymouth Argyle last term and helped inspire them to promotion.
The Englishman has only made eight appearances for Sunderland in the Championship, seven of which have come off the bench, so he’ll find it hard to break into a midfield that is jam-packed with talent.
Pembele is highly rated by supporters and possesses the pace, power and athleticism to become a real asset down the right flank for Beale.
He does have the tough task of dislodging Trai Hume, who has been magnificent this season, but he should certainly get regular opportunities to impress his new manager.