One Black Cats youngster has been examined by Sunderland U21 boss Graeme Murty.
Sunderland have had to deal with several injury issues to many key players throughout the 2024/25 Championship campaign.
Whilst the major blows dealt to Regis Le Bris have involved wingers Romaine Mundle and Tommy Watson, the seismic amount of players that have signed for the club with an injury issue is incredible.
Most recently, Jayden Danns signed for Sunderland on loan from Liverpool, but arrived with a previous injury which as a result has put him out of action for a couple weeks. Whilst not as severe as others, the deal brought about a sense of deja vu after the injury that was identified on summer arrival Ahmed Abdullahi when he joined the club.
The Nigerian youngster is moving closer to his first-team debut, but it has taken a significant amount of time for him to return from injury, with U21 boss Graeme Murty outlining the issues that the striker has had to overcome.
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Sunderland U21 coach Graeme Murty discusses Ahmed Abdullahi as he nears first-team introduction
Black Cats striker Abdullahi arrived in the summer transfer window for a total of £3million, a sizable amount for a player with limited first-team experience.
Because of the notably large fee spent on him, Sunderland fans were highly anticipating his debut, but fast forward nearly six months, and the Nigerian still hasn’t accumulated a single minute of first-team action because of injury issues sustained since his arrival on Wearside.
On a positive note, his introduction to first-team football is not far from completion after his recent stint with the U21’s, including a goal last time out against Wolves, where he played 45 minutes.
After the game, U21 coach Murty was quizzed on the attacker, per Sunderland Echo, where he said: “It was good and he can start to see the things that we’re trying to do and I thought you saw some of his attributes coming out.
“Obviously, he’s really keen. He wants to do really well. He’s been frustrated by his time and the challenges he’s faced but, once again, he’s been really good to work with. He’s been really bubbly in and around the group, he’s another one that you hope now uses this as a springboard to go forward.”
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Ahmed Abdullahi first-team introduction will be worth the wait
With Abdullahi, there is no doubt that he has a high ceiling, and that was clearly noted by Kristjaan Speakman before his arrival, which explains why Sunderland signed him for such an amount.
Because of this, fans should rightly be excited to see the 20-year-old in action, which will hopefully fall in the coming weeks.
His one-half performance for the Black Cats youth side against Wolves U21’s showcased his pace, strength and finishing quality, something that will undoubtedly come in handy for Le Bris, who will be keen to add depth to his attacking ranks.