It is becoming increasingly clear that Sunderland could be in a spot of bother this season, bottom of the Premier League after seven games following Tottenham’s Monday night win over Coventry City.
Before the international break, the Black Cats fell to back-to-back losses against Arsenal and Manchester City, but there was a lot to be admired about their aggressive, tenacious battles against two of the division’s toughest opponents.
Subsequent defeats to Brighton and Bournemouth have put a dampener on Sunderland’s prospects, with several members of the squad voicing their annoyance at the situation the Stadium of Light is sliding into.
Why Sunderland are struggling this season
The season is still young, but Sunderland have now lost four in a row, and a quiet summer transfer window is threatening the stability of Regis Le Bris‘ project, with the squad now juggling domestic duties with European football.
To have qualified for the Europa League last season was a significant achievement, but football moves quickly, and this current version of Le Bris’ Sunderland are heavily underperforming – with players expressing their frustrations over disjointedness across the park, the squad struggling to gel as they did last season.
Nordi Mukiele’s candour after Sunderland lost at Bournemouth at the weekend split a few opinions, but the truth is that the robust right-back has a point: Goals are proving hard to come by for the Wearsiders, and their once tightened structure has given way to leaky defending, with data from Understat revealing they have conceded 14.88 xGA already this term, 18th in the division for that metric.
Expected goals against (xGA) is the number of goals a team is expected to have conceded based on the quality and quantity of shots they face.
Take such convoluted data with a pinch of salt, but it does make a comment on Sunderland’s open defending, lacking the clarity and conviction of last year.
It would be fair to say that, right now, Le Bris is struggling to get the balance right, and maybe he needs to reconsider some of the team selection he isn’t getting right.
Le Bris needs to drop Trai Hume
Hume made his Sunderland debut when they were pushing to break out of League One, and now, he is one of the most experienced heads in the squad.
Last season, the Northern Ireland international featured in all 38 of the Black Cats’ Premier League matches, hailed as a “warrior” and a well-rounded cog by his manager.
Hume is a valuable squad player, but he is limited, and with the outfit currently in some kind of rut, is also not the answer to lift them out of it. When out on the right, played into space by the likes of Enzo Le Fee and Granit Xhaka, Hume simply lacks the athleticism and instinctiveness in attack to charge and find space and make something happen in the final third.
Against Bournemouth, for example, the 24-year-old made ten defensive contributions across the course of the game, but he failed to offer anything meaningful in offence. He did not create a chance or complete a dribble, still completing only 59% of his passes. It’s ludicrous that he should be starting games in an offensive berth for this Sunderland side.
Though Hume has played a sort of hybrid role this term, it’s clear that Sunderland need more inspiration in attack. Luckily, Le Bris has the perfect replacement to call upon.
Sunderland must unleash the new Sessegnon
Stephane Sessegnon scored 17 goals across 87 appearances for Sunderland, winning the club’s Player of the Season in his first year (2011/12). A skilled and uncanny playmaker, he made things happen; on his day, he could raise the roof.
Now, Sunderland may have another maverick in Malick Fofana, who has yet to get going after completing a deal rising to £30m in August.
Fofana, 21, has suffered with injury across his fledgling career – but showed at Lyon his elite potential, evidenced by Arsenal’s interest in striking a deal this summer.
Ultimately, the player chose Sunderland despite the vested interest of Crystal Palace too, sold by Le Bris’ project and the platform he would step onto and prepare to spring up to an elite standard.
Fofana is fast, and he is direct and dynamic too. However, Le Bris is showing a bit of obstinance in refusing to give him a maiden Premier League start. Across four games thus far, the Belgium international has only appeared as a sub, attempting and completing three dribbles.
Give him time and trust, and he could emulate Sessegnon in his flair at the Stadium of Light, hailed by content creator Dev Bajwa for his “electric” ability on the ball.
Le Bris’ system is not set up to promote expansive wing play. Perhaps that is why Le Bris favours Hume. However, that’s backwards, and last season in Ligue 1, Fofana ranked among the top 7% of wingers in the division for duels won and the top 10% for expected assists per 90, emphasising his combative desire to take defenders on and then create chances in the danger area.
Fofana was signed for a reason. The way Sunderland are going about things right now isn’t working. Prominent first-team stars such as Mukiele have picked up on it, and it feels like unleashing Fofana and giving him confidence could be a sure-fire way to make some forward movement.
