Sunderland have been encouraged to play one of their starters in a different position before the end of the season.
Mike Dodds has found himself experimenting with different formations, tactics and position changes since he temporarily replaced Michael Beale earlier this year.
Having taken four points from Leeds United and West Brom over the last week, the Sunderland coach has found success in using five defenders, with Trai Hume moving into the middle and Timothee Pembele and Callum Styles adopting wing-back roles.
It was a formation that had huge flaws when they were beaten by Swansea City in his first game in charge, but they looked much more comfortable over their last two outings.
Styles was noticeably better this time round after a tough start to life at the Stadium of Light, while he was lauded as ‘superb’ following the weekend’s win over the Baggies.
The 24-year-old had 61 touches, made two key passes, completed two crosses and made one tackle.
Sunderland should experiment with Callum Styles
While Styles really seems to be adapting into the wing-back role in recent weeks, journalist Phil Smith has urged Dodds to play him elsewhere during their final three matches.
Speaking on Sunderland Echo’s YouTube channel, Smith said: “”I mentioned that shape change at the end that really helped Sunderland… Styles went into central midfield and looked really tidy.
“It’s something that I would like to see between now and the end of the season, because that’s the position he plays at a good international level and it would be good to see how he would do that in the Championship.”
Can the makeshift wing-back fit into midfield?
Callum Styles has looked miles better as a wing-back in the past two games in comparison to his time in a flat back four, but Sunderland can’t continue to play that formation just to get the best out of him.
Playing five at the back is great when we’re playing tough opposition and spend a lot of our time defending, but I would be surprised if we head into this weekend’s clash with Millwall with the same mindset.
Styles simply shouldn’t be named in the backline when we revert to our original formation, but I would definitely like to see him play in his natural position in midfield instead.
While Dan Neil and Pierre Ekwah impressed at The Hawthorns, it seems the perfect opportunity to mix things up and see what Styles could offer us next season.