One Sunderland gem has been told he has been one of the ‘standout performers’ this season.
Sunderland U21s progressed to the quarter-finals of Premier League 2 on Monday evening as they beat Wolves 4-1.
The Black Cats found themselves 1-0 down at half-time, but goals from Ben Middlemas, Trey Ogunsuyi, Tom Watson and Timur Tutierov turned things around and claimed a vital win at Eppleton CW.
Sunderland will now face West Ham in the final eight of the competition next week, as they look to make it four wins on the bounce.
While it is often Tom Watson who receives all the plaudits and rightfully earned himself some minutes for the senior team on the final day, another promising gem has also been labelled one of the academy’s ‘standout performers’.
Sunderland U21s reach Premier League 2 quarter-finals
Oli Bainbridge took up his usual spot on the left-side of defence last night, having now started 14 of Sunderland’s 18 games in Premier League 2.
The left-back snatched his first goal of the campaign in their 4-0 win over Blackburn Rovers last time out, before putting on another solid display against their play-off opponents.
Bainbridge received high praise after the win against Wolves, with the Sunderland Echo awarding him an 8 rating for his performance.
Journalist Joe Nicholson wrote: “Made some important interceptions, both aerially and on the ground. Has been one of Sunderland’s standout performers at left-back this season.”
Sunderland face competition to keep hold of Oli Bainbridge
Bainbridge has helped Sunderland concede only the joint fourth-lowest total in the league this term (32) – behind only Tottenham, Fulham and their next opponents, West Ham.
The 18-year-old’s form this season has also attracted interest elsewhere, with Everton reportedly lining up a summer move for his signature.
Bainbridge put pen to paper on a new two-year deal with the option of a further year last summer, but that is unlikely to prevent the Toffees from trying to bring him to the Premier League.
The defender is one of a number of academy stars who were expected to earn themselves a place in first-team in the latter stages of the campaign, but it was only Tom Watson who featured against Sheffield Wednesday.
While Bainbridge is only approaching his 19th birthday in June, he will likely want assurances that he will be able to force his way into the senior team if he is to reject a summer switch.
The teenager currently has a lot of competition at left-back, with Aji Alese and Dennis Cirkin likely to be battling it out for that position next season. Meanwhile, Niall Huggins and Leo Hjelde are both still on the books.
Bainbridge is clearly very highly-rated and would be a huge loss for the Black Cats, but the huge talent of Alese and Cirkin make it difficult to hand out promises.
It could make sense to send the youngster out on loan this summer to ensure he develops quicker and then we can see where he stands when we have the option to extend his stay by a further year.