One struggling Sunderland star has been backed to cause Michael Beale ‘problems’ for the rest of the season.
Despite bringing some excellent young players in since Kyril-Louis Dreyfus arrived at the club, Sunderland’s summer transfer window has proven to be particularly underwhelming so far.
The Black Cats made eleven signings at the start of the season, however Jobe Bellingham is the only one who has managed to earn a regular place in the starting line-up.
The likes of Nazariy Rusyn and Jenson Seelt are slowly beginning to find their feet, while both Eliezer Mayenda and Nectarios Triantis have since joined Hibernian on loan.
One player whose time on Wearside seems to be at a standstill is Adil Aouchiche, who joined the club from FC Lorient.
The Frenchman looked to be a very promising signing from some of his cameos at the start of the campaign, but has struggled to have much of an impact in his four starts and has only featured in one of Sunderland’s last six games.
Aouchiche’s lack of game time with the senior team led to him joining Luis Hemir Semedo and Romaine Mundle in the U21s clash against Bristol City on Monday.
The 21-year-old put on a standout performance as he claimed the assist for Hemir’s goal and played the full 90 minutes.
Despite a difficult first half of the campaign, U21s coach John Hewitson has now tipped Aouchiche to give Michael Beale ‘problems’ going forward.
Speaking to Sunderland Echo, Hewitson said: “He’s a creative player and I think he’s a good character to have within the squad. His language is really good so he’s able to communicate and express what he wants from his teammates around him very well.
“He just adds that little bit of quality to our squad. Hopefully all three of them will give the manager and first-team squad some problems and selection dilemmas in the future.”
Will Adil Aouchiche get another chance?
Adil Aouchiche looked as if he could be one of our best signings during a period where he was picking up successive cameos, as well as picking up a goal and an assist.
However, a very poor performance against Ipswich Town saw him miss a golden chance, before giving away a silly free-kick that led to their winner.
It seems very difficult for him to force his way back into the team now, though I still stand by that Jobe Bellingham does need a rest at some point and Aouchiche would have to take that opportunity by the scruff of the neck.