The young Sunderland attacking midfielder is highly rated by Graeme Murty and Régis Le Bris
Graeme Murty has praised under-21 captain Harrison Jones for his performance up front as Sunderland defeated Leeds United in the Premier League 2 on Monday night.
The 20-year-old, who usually plays as an attacking midfielder, started the game against Leeds United with the number nine shirt on his back. The boyhood Sunderland fan played the role well, assisting one of Finn Geragusian’s goals and scoring one of his own during the 3-0 win.
It is no secret that first-team head coach Régis Le Bris is a big fan of Jones, with the Frenchman handing the Wearsider his first Sunderland appearance against Preston North End in the Carabao Cup at the beginning of the season. Le Bris also started Jones at the Stadium of Light in the FA Cup against Stoke City in January, before handing the youngster his first minutes in the Championship away to Sheffield Wednesday recently.
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Though Jones is unlikely to unseat Wilson Isidor or Eliezer Mayenda during Sunderland’s run-in and potential play-off campaign, the versatility shown by the youngster does provide food for thought for Le Bris next season and whether or not Jones is kept at the club or loaned out to play regularly depending on what division the Black Cats are in.
After the game against Leeds United at Hetton on Tuesday night, Murty explained the decision to play Jones as a false nine and discussed the player’s pathway to the first team, with Jones now training regularly with Le Bris’ senior squad.
“So we like to use Harrison as a false nine to make sure we utilise his receiving skills and his awareness to pull centre-halves out of their spaces and create space around him for people to run into,” Murty told The Echo after the Leeds United game. “We need willing runners and I thought we had that. We had people willing to go beyond the ball.
“We had people willing to break the back line with and without the ball and when we do get into the final third, I thought we showed some really, really good creativity, both collectively and individually. So that's a really good thing for us that we are continuing to create lots and lots of chances. However, as the coach, we would obviously like them to take a few more.”
“I think his understanding of going and playing and training with the first team every single day has really bolstered his self-confidence, has really made him think that he might belong,” Murty added. “And it's really said to him, I'm a good footballer, I deserve to be pushing and challenging and competing. Not playing, but pushing and challenging.
“And that understanding of what it takes to get to the next level is something that we're keen our young players get to experience. So when they go over with the first-team players, there are times I feel that young players get onto the first-team plateau because the first-team need numbers, and the first-team kind of take it easy on them and they're going through their stuff but not really going flat out.
“When you see Chris Rigg, you see Tommy Watson, now you see Harrison, they're treated exactly the same as first-team players, so they have to deal with that increased physicality. It's benefited him immeasurably. It really has pushed his development on a little bit. There's still more to come, but I think the exciting thing for him and for this entire group is they're just at the start of that journey and we feel there's a hell of a lot more to come from him and them.”
Murty praises Sunderland youngsters for their versatility
Against Leeds United, Jenson Jones started at right-back before playing left-wing in the second half and bagging an assist, the youngster can also play in midfield. Hotshot forwards Finn Geragusian played on the right to accommodate Harrison Jones through the middle.
“There's lots for them to learn,” Murty added. “So what we want to do, we want to encourage our players to not get fixated on position, but be really good footballers. So Jenson kind of is that guy that understands a lot about the game, but technically is really smooth. So we can plug him into any of the gaps that we need. He'll show really good understanding.
“He'll link smoothly with the players around him. And we've not really got any concern about where we play him. So it allows us to be a little bit more flexible and a little bit more challenging for our other players in terms of their learning environment. So Finn's played off the right, he's played as a nine. Harrison's played as a nine, as a 10. Jack Whittaker has come on, he's played as a 10, then he's played as a seven. So we can rotate our players around and it will give them all a very, very enriching experience that we think is key.”
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Related topics:Regis Le BrisSunderlandLeeds UnitedPremier League 2Youngster
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