Elliot Embleton has revealed he is enjoying life in Sunderland under-21s’ squad after stepping up from the youth team.
With nine academy prospects involved in the first-team ahead of the 2016-17 Premier League campaign, that has presented Embleton with a chance to stake his claim in Andy Welsh’s team.
After moving up from Elliott Dickman’s under-18s squad, the 17-year-old came off the bench at half-time in Tuesday evening’s 2-0 defeat at Darlington and was unfortunate not to reduce the deficit after a couple of well-taken efforts.
Speaking to safc.com Embleton shared Welsh’s disappointment at the result, and has admitted he is making the most of challenging himself among more experienced players.
“It has been good so far and I feel as though I have played well in each game,” he said. “It has been a good chance to step up from the under-18s and I feel as though I’m handling it well but I need to keep going and improving.
“It’s a different type of football and there are more challenges because players want to be where we are so we have got to continue to work hard."
He continued: “We need to approach the games better in future and be more organised because we are disappointed with our overall performance and result.”