Noah Sadiki has a long way to go to emulate what Xhaka has achieved in the last decade-and-a-half, but 11 games into his Sunderland career, and the 20-year-old could hardly have made a better start to life on Wearside.
“When we talk about him [Sadiki], we can forget that he is only 20,” said Le Bris, whose side sit in the Premier League’s top four after a stellar start to the season. “He is a really good player. He has a different personality, but I think he is really smart to understand what is needed to go further.”
That desire to take on board information and improve has been key to Sadiki’s successful settling in with Sunderland. The midfielder was hardly an unknown when he moved to England. He made more than 100 senior appearances with Union Saint-Gilloise, winning a Belgian title, and played in both the Champions League and Europa League for the Brussels-based club. He is also an 11-time senior international with DR Congo.
Even so, moving to the Premier League at the age of 20 would be a challenge for anyone, particularly when that move involved joining a club in a huge period of transition following their promotion to the top-flight.
Would Sadiki be able to cope in England’s top division? Would he be able to handle himself alongside the vastly more experienced Xhaka at the heart of midfield?
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The answer to both questions has been a resounding ‘Yes’. Sadiki has been superb in the first three months of the season, with his energy, athleticism and astute reading of the game making him the perfect foil for Xhaka. Off the ball, Sadiki has been a bundle of enthusiasm, snapping around opponents to win tackles and prevent Sunderland’s opponents from having time or space in possession. When he has had the ball himself, he has used it efficiently, and in the absence of the injured Habib Diarra, his increased willingness to break through the opposition’s lines has become apparent.
Far more than a midfield ‘disruptor’, he has already displayed a willingness to adapt his game to the meet the demands that Le Bris is making of him. That approach has endeared him to his boss.
“He looks at what type of specific profile he needs to progress,” said Le Bris. “That’s technical and physical. You don’t always find the same profile with every player – he has his own characteristics, but I think they fit well with the demands of the Premier League.
“At the same time, though, you have to have the mentality to learn and be aware of what the characteristics of your environment are and what you need to do to improve.
“What can I do to get better? What advice do I need to take from other members of the team? He has this combination of talent on one side, then on the other side, the ability to learn.”
He has also displayed commendable maturity for his age. Sadiki’s biggest challenge of his Sunderland career so far came in the recent draw with Everton, when he was infuriated by a series of refereeing decisions and clattered into James Garner, earning a deserved yellow card.
For a split second, it looked as though Sadiki’s head was gone, and given that there were still 73 minutes to play, you wondered whether Le Bris would have to substitute the midfielder to prevent him seeing red. Instead, Le Bris trusted Sadiki’s mentality, and was rewarded with a calm, controlled performance that saw the youngster successfully rein himself in to not only remain on the field, but play a major role in the second-half revival that earned Sunderland a point.
“He got a bit frustrated in the first half against Everton, and we spoke about this topic,” said Le Bris. “It was probably the first time he wasn't so composed emotionally.
“It's a good lesson for him because he had the ability to feel it and fix it in real time, which is not always obvious for a young player. And then he did well. One more quality, one more lesson.”