As Regis Le Bris continues to put faith in Sunderland’s rising stars, opportunities should come knocking for some of Graeme Murty’s teenage kicks.
While the likes of Jobe Bellingham, Chris Rigg and Dennis Cirkin continue to blossom at Championship level, the early months of the 2024/25 season have brought about opportunities for Sunderland’s next generation of homegrown talent.
Regis Le Bris has handed Tommy Watson the chance to show he is ready to graduate from youth-team football. The teenager has made five league appearances so far under the Frenchman.
Zak Johnson and Harrison Jones have also earned opportunities of their own. Ben Crompton, meanwhile, could be next in line for a senior debut having already featured in the matchday squad in the EFL Cup.
Sunderland coach Graeme Murty full of praise for Ben Crompton
Crompton, the 20-year-old defender, added another string to his bow as Murty’s team ran riot against Tamworth on Tuesday night.
Having impressed at centre-half and at left-back this season, Crompton was shifted over to a new right-sided wing-back role in the National League Cup. And he rewarded Murty’s faith with the fifth strike in a 5-1 rout.
After recovering from surgery and an injury which brought a premature end to his 2023/24 campaign, the former Shrewsbury Town and Wolverhampton Wanderers kid is more than making up for lost time this season.
“[Crompton] needs that challenge. He’s come back from his ankle operation, and he’s come back really well,” Murty said after Sunderland’s youngsters made their quality known against a senior Tamworth outfit.
“He enjoys training with the first team, he enjoys training with mature athletes. He’s one of the players in our area who we have looked to to set the standard of performance. And sometimes, if I am being honest, he finds that challenging.
“But when he approaches it like he did tonight, he looks a really good player.”
Crompton shines in another new role as Sunderland hammer Tamworth
Murty is not surprised to see Crompton take to an unfamiliar position like a duck to water either. The way in which he lathered the icing on top of a tasty victory – coolly slotting home from an angle – was typical of a cultured and confident display.
“We know we can move him around the backline,” ex-Rangers boss Murty adds. “We can play him left-back, we can play him centre-back or, as tonight, we can play him at wing-back.
“He’s a really versatile player. He’s got really good technique, he’s quick, and we’d like to make sure we give him a broad learning experience. Tonight, he has learned very many different things which, when he looks back on it, he will say that really benefitted me.”
Jaydon Jones and Tommy Lavery also found the net, while Sunderland striking sensation Trey Ogunsuyi maintained his flying form with a brace.
And Murty feels that Sunderland’s Academy of Light luminaries can only benefit from testing themselves against older opposition, with Gateshead and Halifax Town to come in the near future.
“We want to get into competitions like this to expose them to different challenges,” Murty explains. I think some of them are ready to step up and play against men. We have to give them the next learning opportunity and he [Crompton] embraced that challenge with both hands.”
“Their application and endeavour was of the highest order. They have shown their qualities against senior athletes. It was excellent from start to finish.
“These experiences are massive for development and we have a close group who do really well at overcoming challenges.”