Sunderland have a habit of producing top young talent, and Trey Ogunsuyi looks to be the next in line for his big break.
Fans have already seen the likes of Chris Rigg, Anthony Patterson, and Tommy Watson come through the ranks at Sunderland in recent years.
Developing young players is something Sunderland sees as a priority, and Regis Le Bris is lucky to have so much exciting talent coming through the club’s academy.
Trey Ogunsuyi continues to excel in the Under-21 team for Sunderland, and looks ready for the first-team, but the club needs to be careful with his development.
Trey Ogunsuyi has to offer more to his teammates
Under-21 coach, Graeme Murty, saw Ogunsuyi hit his 13th goal of the season over the weekend in the narrow defeat to Manchester City. But, speaking to the Sunderland Echo in the wake of that game, Murty had a mix of praise and constructive criticism for the 18-year-old.
He said: “He had a hard game against some good opponents. He looks a threat. He looks like he’s going to score. [But] there are lots of things we need to tidy up for him.
“We need to see him be much, much more consistent in his availability for the ball and for the team. Because when he is, he’s a really good focal point. But he’s a very, very young man. He’s only just turned 18. So we have to be really careful not to load too much expectation on him.
“Just allow him to blossom at his own time and continue to support his development and I think that he’s shown some really good signs.”
Murty went on to discuss the pathway to the first-team for players like Ogunsuyi, adding: “They need to see it and be able to touch it and see that that pathway is a real tangible thing for them.
“We would say that we’re a really, really good landing spot for young talent to really go and experience what it might be to get into a first team.”
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Patient approach could leave Trey Ogunsuyi looking elsewhere
There is always a big debate around young players as to whether they are ready to play first-team football, or if rushing them into that environment could end up hampering their long-term progress.
The thing is, there can be very little harm in at least giving Ogunsuyi a taste of the action. He’s already been on the bench for Sunderland a few times, and now he needs a five or ten minute cameo just to get that experience under his belt.
| Youngest Sunderland debutants | Age on debut | Date of debut |
|---|---|---|
| Derek Forster | 15 years, 6 months, 3 days | August 22, 1964 |
| Chris Rigg | 15 years, 6 months, 20 days | January 7, 2023 |
| Jimmy Hamilton | 16 years, 3 months, 11 days | September 25, 1971 |
| Bali Mumba | 16 years, 6 months, 28 days | May 6, 2018 |
| Dan Neil | 16 years, 11 months | November 13, 2018 |
| Tom Watson | 17 years, 10 days | April 18, 2023 |
Sunderland have big decisions to make with regards to Ogunsuyi’s future, especially with clubs like Liverpool showing an interest in the young Belgian forward.
The fact of the matter is, at 18-years-old, Ogunsuyi is already older than Rigg, Watson, and Dan Neil were when they made their Black Cats debut, so it’s time to throw him into the fray and see what happens.