With the January transfer window looming, could Adil Aouchiche’s heroic cameo during the midweek draw with Bristol City be a turning point in his Sunderland career?
In the build-up to that Tuesday night clash, Regis Le Bris indicated that Aouchiche could leave Sunderland on loan in the winter. Potentially, alongside Abdoullah Ba and Nazariy Rusyn.
But as Tommy Watson picked up an injury against Bristol City – just days after his stunning double saw off Stoke – Adil Abouchiche seized the chance to stake a claim for more regular involvement.
The former Paris Saint-Germain starlet had only played 17 minutes of Championship football across 2024/25 before he was introduced against Liam Manning’s side.
And, providing the assist as Patrick Roberts salvaged a point for Sunderland in stoppage time, Aouchiche might just have stepped up at the ideal moment, both for himself and for the Black Cats’ promotion prospects.
Sunderland injuries open door for Adil Aouchiche and Nazariy Rusyn
Le Bris confirmed that Watson faces two months out during his Thursday press conference. And, with Romain Mundle also stuck on the sidelines, the door suddenly looks ajar for Aouchiche to nail down the left-wing role in the Frenchman’s 4-3-3 formation over the coming weeks.
But what about another of Sunderland’s seldom-seen squad players?
Ukrainian Nazariy Rusyn has not featured in the red and white stripes since that 2-0 victory over Derby County at the start of October.
Le Bris was asked, however, about whether the absences of Watson and Mundle could see Rusyn return to the pitch ahead of Sunday’s trip to Swansea City.
And while he did not confirm or deny, the former Zorya Luhansk attacker may well have a part to play during a gruelling festive fixture schedule, even any potential renaissance will have been brought about more through necessity than desire.
“Yes I think [we have options for the left-hand side],” Le Bris told the media. “We will find a solution. We don’t have choice!
“We will find something because we have many young players. We know we can discover many things because they are so young. Probably, they don’t know how good they can be, so we have to find out new solutions all the time.
“We have the options in our mind. We will see [what team I pick] for Swansea.”
Roman Didyk could have been at Sunderland alongside Rusyn
Rusyn, having turned 26 in October, is not really a youngster in the manner of Mundle, Watson or Aouchiche. But, according to Transfermarkt, he has played 20 games in his senior career on the left-hand side.
With six goals and four assists from that role, he averages a ‘goal contribution’ every other appearance from the flank.
It emerged recently, meanwhile, that Sunderland came close to signing another Ukrainian back in 2022, a year before Rusyn put pen to paper.
Roman Didyk, a defender at FC Rukh Lviv these days, impressed the Black Cats during a trial period on Wearside. A contract may have been on the table, too, if not for a horribly-timed groin injury.
“I could have actually ended up in England. It was back in 2022, after the start of the full-scale war [between Ukraine and Russia],” Didyk recalls, speaking UA Football.
“I had the opportunity, I was happy to go there. I trained for eight or nine days. [But] on the last day, I pulled my groin and couldn’t stay because of that. So, I went back to Ukraine.
“As far as I know, I [initially] went exclusively for a trial, so that they would look at me, take note of me, something like that.
“[But the Sunderland coaches] were happy, as far as I heard.”