Elliott Dickman has reserved a special mention for Sunderland’s latest debutant Elliot Embleton.
The 18-year-old made his inaugural appearance for Chris Coleman’s first team at Molineux on Saturday, when he came off the bench in Sunderland’s hard-fought draw against the Sky Bet Championship leaders Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Replacing Lynden Gooch in the 90th minute, Embleton became the second academy player to make his debut this season after Ethan Robson featured against Everton.
And speaking about the Durham-born midfielder’s rise to the first-team, Dickman praised the youngster’s persistence to reach the top.
“Our job is to get these lads into our first-team so the fact that there was a number of them at Wolves is a credit to everyone involved in the academy,” he said.
“It is a credit to everyone for having faith in these young lads – Elliot Embleton made his debut which is fantastic for him. We are all really pleased.
“He has been around the first team for quite a while now.
“Last season he was on the bench quite a lot. He got the opportunity and it was great in quite a tight game with the first team.
“Everybody in the academy is really pleased and delighted for Elliot and his family,” he continued.
“He has been at the club for a long time and what people don’t see behind the scenes is mum and dad taking you to training, travelling and supporting you. It’s not just over one year, it is over 10, 11 or 12 years.
“The fact he has got a good support network around him is also important.”