Regis Le Bris gave a number of fringe players the opportunity to impress him in the Carabao Cup.
Sunderland were beaten 2-0 by Preston North End in the first round this week, but had a second string team playing against a majority of the Lilywhites’ seniors.
Le Bris made eleven changes to the team that beat Cardiff City in their Championship opener, with the likes of Abdoullah Ba and Nazariy Rusyn handed opportunities to force their way into the first team picture.
A couple of players stood out during their trip to Deepdale, while others did themselves no favours and may have put themselves into consideration for a loan exit.
One player who was handed a rare appearance was Zak Johnson, who last featured for the senior team in the Carabao Cup this time last year.
The centre-back was moved out to right-back and endured a difficult evening in Lancashire.
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Sunderland gem gives 100% ‘all the time’
While Le Bris admitted Johnson could now be loaned out, he did say he really liked the youngster.
Speaking to the Sunderland Echo, he said: “He played as a right-back today, so it’s a different position for him.
“I think centre-back is his best position. He still wants to learn, he’s at his best 100 per cent all the time, so I like this kind of player.
“The competition in this position is high at the club, so we’ll see if it’s better for him and for the club to go on loan or not. I like this personality who is always involved in the game, in the training session as well.”
Zak Johnson isn’t ready for Championship football
Johnson could have paved a way for himself into the senior squad if he had impressed against Preston, with the back-up right-back position currently up for grabs.
With Timothee Pembele likely to leave on loan, the Sunderland academy product was offered a huge chance.
However, Johnson clearly isn’t quite ready for that leap up to senior football and may feel like he has been unfairly criticised since he was played out of position.
The 20-year-old is likely still far behind the likes of Nectarios Triantis and Leo Hjelde in the centre-back spot too, so sending him out on loan makes complete sense.
He is still young and has plenty of time to make a name for himself on Wearside, but Tuesday night proved that Championship football is still beyond him.
It also makes it very clear that Sunderland desperately need to sign a back-up for Trai Hume, as an injury to the Northern Ireland international would be disastrous.