Sunderland youngsters who could REALLY do with a loan move in January

Making sure young players get games is crucial when you want to develop them, so Sunderland will have some decisions to make.

Sunderland seem committed to the transfer model of developing young players, and that’s fine when you are giving them plenty of football.

So while the likes of Dennis Cirkin, Jack Clarke, Dan Neil, Anthony Patterson and Aji Alese are thriving, other youngsters in the Sunderland squad are at risk of stagnating due to a lack of game time.

So, as we approach January, which Sunderland players look like they could really do with a loan move away?

Leon Dajaku

It’s hard to remember a more enigmatic player at Sunderland than Leon Dajaku in recent times.

The German definitely has talent and I think we can all see that it’s in there somewhere. Certainly, Tony Mowbray has talked it up, describing Dajaku’s right foot as ‘a rocket.’

What no one seems to be able to see right now, though, is how to get that talent to actually show itself when it matters.

Dajaku is a classic chicken and egg situation. He needs games to bring out his talent but he’s not getting games because he isn’t showing his talent. In fact, he has played just 161 minutes of Championship football this season and four matches at under-21 level too. It has all been very sporadic, too.

If Dajaku has any chance at all of fulfilling his potential he needs regular football and the reassurance that he can have a bad game without worrying about losing his place.

Let’s face it, that’s not going to happen at Sunderland this season, so a loan deal to League One, similar to that of Jack Diamond’s move to Lincoln, would probably do him the world of good and at least give the kid a shot at making it.

Trai Hume

I am going off nothing but gut intuition really here, but I have never been able to shake this idea that Sunderland have themselves a bit of a gem in Trai Hume.

He is mobile, combative, good in the air, comfortable on the ball and can deliver quality into the box. Hume is perhaps just a yard of extra pace short of a complete checklist for everything you’d want in a modern full back.

His problem is similar to that of Dajaku’s really, in that he’s not getting the game time to pull it all together. Sunderland have a lot of squad depth at right-back, with Lynden Gooch, Niall Huggins and Luke O’Nien all vying for that spot too.

Hume is right in the mix too, but six months of sustained football in League One would likely kick-start and accelerate his development considerably – and Sunderland might just get a very different player back in the summer.

Jay Matete

It absolutely blows my mind a bit, but Jay Matete has played less Championship football than Leon Dajaku this season.

The midfielder has not made a single league start this season under Tony Mowbray with his only one coming in Alex Neil’s final game in charge at Stoke in August.

That’s very surprising given he tends to make an impression whenever he comes off the bench. It appears that Abdoullah Ba is ahead of him at the moment with the Frenchman already playing more Championship minutes than Matete.

You would also expect Matete to fall even further down the midfield pecking order once Edouard Michut returns from injury and gets himself up to speed.

Matete is far too good a prospect to allow to stagnate, though. If Sunderland are not going to use him – and clearly they aren’t – then there will be clubs in League One literally lining up to offer him a key role and guarantee him the minutes he needs.  

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