Brian Brobbey has had a tough start to life at the Stadium of Light, but things are beginning to look up for the Sunderland forward.
Among the 15 new faces that came through the door at Sunderland this summer and the £163m spent on transfers, Brian Brobbey’s reported £25m move was a big deal.
The 23-year-old arrived from Ajax with plenty of hype, but was also carrying a lingering injury concern. He is yet to start a game for Regis Le Bris’ first-team, but Brobbey did make an impact during the win over Chelsea with a fine assist to help secure the victory late on.
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Sunderland have defied expectations thus far, but Brobbey will be desperate to play a more substantial role in the team’s success moving forward.
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Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
A first Sunderland goal for Brian Brobbey
Brobbey looked visibly low on confidence at the weekend. He didn’t look much happier on Wednesday night after scoring his first goal in a Sunderland shirt, albeit for the Under-21 team in a draw against RSC Anderlecht Futures in the Premier League International Cup.
But, after receiving the ball on the edge of the box, Brobbey composed himself and took it past one man before coolly slotting a low strike past the opposition ‘keeper to level the scores for the Black Cats’ youth team.
Given his late arrival to Sunderland in the transfer window, this was the perfect opportunity for Brobbey to get his first start of the season. And, while we would obviously expect him to excel against younger opponents, there’s a lot to be said for the momentum this 60-minute outing could give the forward now.
Brobbey displayed good hold-up play, some lovely skills and turns, and excellent vision to bring his teammates into the game on Wednesday night. Fans will have also been delighted to see real evidence of Brobbey’s penchant for hanging on the line of the last defender and showing a killer instinct in front of goal.
The Sunderland Under-21 team also included the likes of Anthony Patterson, Luke O’Nien, and Eliezer Mayenda.
Will Brian Brobbey start vs Everton?
With an assist and now a goal in his last two appearances, and match fitness increasing all the while, there’s every chance Brobbey will be given a proper chance in the Sunderland first-team on Monday night against Everton.
Le Bris was present at the game against Anderlecht’s youngsters, as was influential captain Granit Xhaka. They’ll have been pleased with what they saw but it’s still unlikely Brobbey will get the nod from the start in the next game.
The fact he started this match suggests he will have to settle for a place on the bench when Everton come to the Stadium of Light. But, as we saw against Chelsea, he can certainly make an impact from there.
In addition, Sunderland have been told they’re doing the right thing in being patient with Brobbey. Premier League injury expert Ben Dinnery said (via The Echo): “If you look at the data in terms of new players coming into the Premier League and predominantly players from outside of the UK – from Europe, South America, etc – then you will see a higher risk of injury incidents around those players.
“We’re also talking about a young guy… He’s coming into a completely new environment. And there may be issues around language barriers, being away from your family, different food, climate. All of these things come together and they can potentially create, almost, that perfect storm.
“The need to be able to allow the player to transition and progress while removing that pressure and just allowing them to feel their way in and sort of gradually gain that foothold and that little bit of confidence… everybody’s going to hopefully benefit from that.”
Slow and steady is the way for Brobbey, then, even if the player himself is clearly desperate to get going a lot faster.