A number of Sunderland players have been criticised for their performances in yesterday’s defeat to Bradford City.
The Black Cats had put on a number of impressive displays this summer, but their trip to Valley Parade was one that many will hope to forget heading into the season.
Romaine Mundle was the only player to come out with praise after scoring Sunderland’s only goal of the game, while fans have urged the club to offload Timothee Pembele for his disappointing performance.
One man whose position at the club remains unclear is Nazariy Rusyn, who failed to penetrate Bradford’s defence as he was deployed as a No.9.
The Ukrainian spent a majority of last season as Sunderland’s sole striker and scored twice, but encouraged many to wonder whether he should be played out wide.
Rusyn mostly played as a winger as Zorya Luhansk and picked up 18 goal contributions in 30 games in the Ukrainian Premier League.
After mixing up his positions during preseason, journalist Phil Smith has now urged Regis Le Bris to play Rusyn in his natural position.
Nazariy Rusyn shouldn’t play centrally for Sunderland
Speaking on Sunderland Echo’s YouTube channel, he said: “I saw good signs from Rusyn in Spain, especially when he came off the bench in the Nottingham Forest game. I thought he looked lively.
“I have to say, tonight, the game passed him by. He didn’t look comfortable in that central forward role. He put himself about in the second half in particular, but never really had the beating of his opposition.
“The best performances I’ve seen from him in preseason was when he shifted onto the left against Eldense and I think that question mark about whether he’s an out and out centre-forward is still very much alive.
“I think obviously you don’t want to draw too many conclusions from preseason games because there’s all the factors around it. But, let’s be honest, he hasn’t really put his hand up to be that striker against Cardiff and [Eliezer] Mayenda is ahead of him at the moment.”
Will the Ukrainian get a chance on the wing?
Rusyn was brought onto play as a striker last summer and quickly shot ahead of his teammates because of his work-rate and pace, but it became obvious that those traits were lost playing centrally.
If Sunderland can sign a proper No.9 like Alexandre Mendy, then it will be much easier to push Rusyn out wide.
However, that could still depend on Jack Clarke’s situation. At the moment, both him and Mundle will be ahead in the pecking order, while they are likely to look for a replacement if Clarke is sold.
Rusyn’s versatility could be useful, but he still has a way to go to push himself further up the pecking order.
Fans let him off last term as it was expected he could take a while to settle in, but he really needs to impress against Marseille and also make some eye-catching cameos at the start of the campaign if he isn’t going to eventually be forced out the door.