Sunderland’s first-team may not be in action until Saturday, but the Under-21s just gave Regis Le Bris a lot to think about, with one player in particular shining.
The Sunderland squad is full of talented players, with the likes of Jobe Bellingham, Chris Rigg, and Wilson Isidor taking the headlines this season.
But, if Regis Le Bris is to get the Black Cats promoted this year, he will need to utilise every player at his disposal, and that may mean looking closer at those he has not considered useful so far.
Milan Aleksic has barely featured for Sunderland this season, but after his latest display, things could be about to change.
Milan Aleksic scores brilliant goal for Sunderland Under-21s
Sunderland’s Under-21 team took on Benfica in a friendly on Wednesday night, registering a 2-1 win against the Portuguese side’s youth team.
Goals from Ian Poveda and Milan Aleksic secured the win, and it is the latter who has captured the attention of the Sunderland fans for his effort. Michael Graham shared the goal on Twitter/X, and supporters were unanimous in their praise for Aleksic.
One fan applauded the goal and suggested we could see more of the 19-year-old in the future, posting: “He’s very good at runs like that. Very good player in my opinion. Hard for him to get first-team minutes at the minute, but he will definitely play a key part in this part of the season and future seasons.”
Another said: “I’m surprised he’s not featured more, was highly rated and if I remember correctly, on the verge of a full call-up for Serbia.”
One Sunderland supporter commended Kristjaan Speakman’s talent-spotting skills, adding: “Aleksic is going to be quality for Sunderland. Speakman again recruiting exciting talented gems.”
Other fans lauded Aleksic’s “tidy finish,” claimed he will be a “quality” player in the future, and praised the performance, highlighting the fact he showed “fantastic drive all game” and was “not afraid to put in a tackle.”
As for the Sunderland first-team, one fan picked up on Le Bris’ midfield dilemma, adding: “We have so many central midfield options at the moment. Not used to this as a Sunderland supporter.”
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Should Regis Le Bris give Milan Aleksic more game time?
We initially expected Aleksic to move on in January, but Le Bris made it clear that the player needed to get accustomed to English football, too.
When Aleksic made his debut, it was clear he was not quite sharp enough, but the only way for him to get to those level is to play more regularly. Perhaps now, as we approach the business end of the season, Le Bris will find he needs the Serbian to be involved more with the first-team.
Aleksic is unlikely to force any changes in Sunderland’s starting XI any time soon, but he can certainly make an impact from the bench more often now.
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With a home tie against struggling Plymouth Argyle coming up this weekend, could Aleksic be rewarded with some minutes? We hope so, as it would be a real boost for Sunderland to find they have even more players ready to contribute to this promotion push.