The electrifying Sunderland wonderkid I’m tipping to follow Tommy Watson and Eliezer Mayenda’s rise
Trey Ogunsuyi feels like the next cab off the rank from Sunderland’s remarkable production line – and what a prospect he is.
Thank God he has just signed a new contract until 2028, because on Monday night against Tottenham Hotspur, he looked every inch the club’s brightest wonderkid and, in my view, undoubtedly Sunderland’s most talented youth system player. That’s not said lightly, given the quality of talent already on Wearside.
The Academy of Light has long been a factory of brilliance, producing players such as Dan Neil, Anthony Patterson, Jordan Pickford, Chris Rigg, Sam Greenwood, Bali Mumba, Jordan Henderson, Elliot Embleton, Lynden Gooch, Martin Waghorn and, further back, before the AoL, Micky Gray and Martin Smith. Even players who didn’t quite make it at Sunderland, like John Egan and Conor Hourihane, have gone on to enjoy top careers. Now it feels like Ogunsuyi is next in line – and his hat-trick against Spurs showed exactly why.
What stood out most was the electrifying mix of composure and ruthlessness he showed in front of goal. These weren’t tap-ins delivered on a plate; they were goals born out of sheer force of will, opportunism and determination. Twice, he nicked the ball off Tottenham defenders and punished them with calm, clinical finishes. That blend of confidence and composure under pressure is rare in an 18-year-old.
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Ogunsuyi is physical, fast, intelligent and creative. He doesn’t just run at defenders – he makes clever runs, he improvises, he forces mistakes. The fact that he’s already playing for Sunderland’s under-21s, despite only just turning 18, and has been for some time, underlines how far ahead of his age group he is. Add in the reports from inside the Academy of Light – Graeme Murty and his staff can’t stop raving about him – and you have a player who looks destined for the very top.
The comparisons to Eliezer Mayenda, who was in attendance at Eppleton to watch Ogunsuyi on Monday, are hard to ignore. Both are quick, powerful, opportunistic strikers with that ruthless streak. Mayenda’s rise over the past year has been remarkable, capped with a goal on his Premier League debut against West Ham, and Ogunsuyi has the potential to follow the same path. If Sunderland handles him right, there’s no reason he can’t be doing what Mayenda did last season within 12 to 18 months.
And it’s not just Mayenda providing the blueprint. I watched 25 of Tommy Watson’s games before he broke through, and Ogunsuyi is every bit as talented. In recent seasons, Watson, Rigg, Patterson and Neil have all shown what can be achieved at Sunderland if you apply your talent in the right way. Ogunsuyi can do the same – maybe even more.
What makes Trey’s story even better is that he’s a Sunderland fan like the four players previously mentioned in the last paragraph. He knows what it means to wear the shirt, to play for the badge, and he’s already becoming a cult hero among those who turn up at Eppleton to watch the under-21s. His pride at claiming the match ball against Spurs said it all.
This is a wonderkid in every sense of the word. Electrifying, ruthless, opportunistic, intelligent, creative – Ogunsuyi has it all. And he’s only 18. Sunderland’s brightest young star is already shining, and if he continues on this trajectory, he could be the most exciting homegrown forward the club has produced in decades.
With the Carabao Cup second round on the horizon, Sunderland have the perfect opportunity to test him in a senior setting. A home tie against League One Huddersfield Town offers the kind of stage where Ogunsuyi can be unleashed without the intense pressure of a Premier League clash, yet still against seasoned professionals.
He has already shown he can dominate at under-21 level, and he has featured in pre-season as well as making his senior debut in last season’s FA Cup. Now feels like the right moment to give him a real taste of first-team action. If he can bring that same impressive mix of composure and skill against Huddersfield, then Sunderland could discover they already have a game-changing option within their own academy.
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