Sunderland centre-back Jenson Seelt was highly impressive against Leeds United and now deserves a long run in the team.
Sunderland interim manager, Mike Dodds has now recorded consecutive wins over West Bromwich Albion and Leeds at the Stadium of Light.
In the victory over the former, Dodds persisted with their usual 4-1-4-1 formation, but on Tuesday night, he made the bold decision to switch to a 3-4-3 system and Jenson Seelt was the surprise inclusion on the team sheet.
He slotted into the right side of a back three, presumably to nullify the threat of Dutch dynamo, Crysencio Summerville, and it was a plan that was executed to perfection.
Despite appearing for only the sixth time in the Championship, Seelt was playing in his third position after plying his trade as a right-back and central midfielder already this term.
The 20-year-old, who arrived for £1.7 million from PSV in the summer, the 6 foot 4 goliath gave an excellent account of himself on the night and that came as no surprise to Dodds.
What did Mike Dodds say about Jenson Seelt after beating Leeds?
Seelt performed like a warrior on the right side of the Sunderland defence and Summerville, who has scored nine goals in the second tier this term, failed to get any loose change out of the Dutch destroyer.
This was evidenced by his defensive statistics having made three tackles, two interceptions and was only dribbled past on one occasion, as per Sofascore.
On the back of this display, Dodds showered the youngster with praise, complementing the ceiling of his potential after showing glimpses of it against the Whites.
He said: “Jenson is a really, really good footballer and a really good signing for this football club,
“Like the majority of our signings, we’re trying to ensure that there’s a high ceiling for them. So that they either propel us to where we want to be, or we can sell them for a significant profit and reinvest the money back into the football club.
Why Seelt deserves a long run in the starting XI
After biding his time under Mowbray, Dodds has shown faith in the youngster almost instantly.
Although he has limited experience at this level, unlike Luke O’Nien and Dan Ballard, he makes up for that with his talent.
In the win over Leeds, he proved he’s incredible at reading the game and can pick out a pass having accurately placed two of his five long balls.
While O’Nien has done a good job of slotting in as a makeshift centre-back in recent years, Seelt possesses the physical attributes, including his ability in the air and strength that make him a better option than the 29-year-old.
Although starting Seelt over O’Nien would break up the impressive partnership that he’s formed with Ballard, the Dutch goliath is a huge upgrade in that area.
Therefore, the £3k-a-week star should be rewarded with a long run in the team by Dodds, or by the next manager that takes the reins.