Tony Mowbray has heaped praise on Mason Burstow this week.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, the Sunderland boss admitted he has been really impressed by the ‘unbelievable’ youngster.
The Black Cats were left relieved when they finally added a striker to their ranks on transfer deadline day in Mason Burstow, signing the attacker on loan only hours after rumours had emerged of their interest.
The 20-year-old joins on a season-long loan from Chelsea after making three appearances for their senior team this season.
Burstow joined the Blues from Charlton Athletic last year and enjoyed a brilliant campaign for their U-21 side, scoring ten goals and providing four assists in the PL2 Division 1.
The forward was then rewarded for his quality and was handed his senior debut in Chelsea’s 3-1 defeat to West Ham last month. Burstow made another cameo appearance a week later against Luton Town, before he made his first start for the club in the 2-1 win over AFC Wimbledon in the Carabao Cup.
Chelsea clearly rate Burstow very highly and are eager to see him develop before they give him further chances in the first team, and have now trusted Sunderland to provide him with a vital opportunity.
The youngster was unable to play in the Black Cats’ 5-0 win over Southampton and has spent the past two weeks training with his new team ahead of tomorrow’s trip to QPR.
With his Championship debut in mind, Tony Mowbray has shared his thoughts on Burstow’s first impression on Wearside.
Tony Mowbray has been very impressed with Mason Burstow
“He is a really nice, humble boy,” Mowbray said. “To be honest, the balls were getting net rash the first day he was here because he did not miss. It was flying in, it was unbelievable.
“He looks exciting. He’s a humble kid, almost shy, who is just smashing it in the net. That’s not meant to put pressure on him, that’s just the reality of his first training session, he must have scored 50 goals in an hour.
“He looks exciting, fast and direct. He’s got hunger, he chases around and works hard. He wants to score.
“For me, we just have to fine tune his movement around how we play and whether he can or can’t do that, and if he can’t then we’ll have to tinker it a bit – leave him down the middle and slide more balls in behind. He’s fast and mobile and he can finish.
“I like the humility he brings, the honesty and the fact that he wants to be a footballer, wants to get better. They’re brilliant qualities and I just hope we can get the package right around him to supply the chances, and then it’s down to his talent.
“What I saw on his first training day or two is that the talent is there, he knows where the back of the net is whether it’s a sidefoot into the corner or one where he smashes it into the roof of the net…
“He’s scored all types of goals, I’m hoping we can create the chances for him.”