Marco Gabbiadini has hailed the impact of Sunderland’s academy graduates ahead of Monday’s game at the Stadium of Light.
Picking up a point last time out, Sunderland head into this evening’s game against Everton searching for their first Premier League win of the campaign, but there have been many positives during the early stages of the season with Gabbiadini particularly impressed with the younger members of the squad.
Singling out Lynden Gooch and Duncan Watmore, the former Sunderland striker hailed the trust placed in the youngsters by David Moyes while also pinpointing the return of Jan Kirchhoff who will bolster the Black Cats ranks alongside a host of new faces.
“I think the young players have done really well,” said Gabbiadini. “It’s been hard to bring young players into the fold in previous years but the new manager has trusted the academy and I think he’s been rewarded.
“For so many of them to feature at the same time and so early in the season has been interesting, but I think they’ve coped really well, particularly Lynden Gooch who has had a superb start to his first-team career.”
He continued: “Duncan Watmore has also picked up from where he left off and we saw a glimpse of who could be next during the pre-season games against some good opponents, and it can only be good for the players if the academy continues to produce first-team players.
“Familiar faces returning from injury – Jan came back on Tuesday – will be key and we also have a few players coming in that I don’t know too much about; they’ve either come from abroad of been fringe players at the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City.
“That said, we’ve already seen what Papy Djilobodji can do and I think we’ve had great success in the past with players coming from big clubs, particularly on loan.
“It is going to be an interesting few weeks to see how it all takes shape, but we have to temper that fascination and also get some points on the board.”
