Sunderland assistant coach Mike Dodds has explained which player will offer unique attributes to Michael Beale.
When any new manager joins a football club, the initial period is about assessing what talent he has at his disposal.
Michael Beale knows he has some unbelievably talented players to choose from in the Sunderland squad.
In particular, Dan Neil, Jobe Bellingham and Jack Clarke are three of the quality stars he has at his disposal.
To add to that list, he has talented right-back Timothee Pembele, who arrived from PSG in the summer.
The 21-year-old has been plagued with bad luck at the beginning of his Black Cats career.
A long-term injury set-back has prevented him from featuring this season, however, he has been back in full training for almost a fortnight and made his first appearance for the club on Monday night, featuring for 45 minutes as Sunderland U21’s were narrowly beaten by Arsenal.
Whilst Sunderland will continue to build him up before throwing him into the rigours of Championship football, Mike Dodds has explained how he will give Beale a different way of attacking.
What has Mike Dodds said about Timothee Pembele?
Speaking last week, Dodds highlighted the Frenchman’s attributes and how he’s a different type of full-back to any currently at the club.
He said: “I was going to say he’s a different type of full back [to what we’ve got] but to be fair I think our full backs have been that good, they’ve shown they can do everything,
“Timmy is more I would say of a flying full back, he’s very quick and very athletic, dynamic. What he’ll do is attack from deeper areas and give the team a different dimension that way.
Dodds also went on to praise how well the club have recruited and the variety of options that Beale has at his disposal, especially in the full-back areas.
So far this season, Trai Hume has been the stand-out performer in that area and has played in every single Championship match.
The Northern Irish titan loves to get stuck into challenges and ranks top in the entire division for most tackles won this term.
Whilst he offers defensive solidity, Pembele would provide Beale with pace, power and athleticism on the right side.
Dodds is someone who encourages his full-backs to overlap, both wreaking havoc down the flank and fashioning space for wingers cutting in.
For that reason, Pembele should get an opportunity to impress his manager in the New Year and potentially dislodge Hume from his position.