The academy forward has been quietly building momentum and is now firmly on the first-team radar
Finn Geragusian’s progress at Sunderland has been steady rather than sudden, but it has reached another notable moment with the 18-year-old included in the travelling squad for the FA Cup tie at Oxford under Régis Le Bris.
For those who have watched the under-21s closely over the past two seasons, his presence around the first-team picture will not come as a surprise. Geragusian broke into the U21 set-up as a 17-year-old under Graeme Murty last season and quickly looked comfortable playing above his age group.
Across the 2024-25 campaign he made 31 appearances in all competitions, scoring 12 goals and providing seven assists in just over 2,000 minutes. He featured in the U18 Premier League, Premier League 2, Premier League Cup and FA Youth Cup, and rarely looked overawed by the step up.
This season, now 18, he has continued along a similar trajectory. In 19 appearances across the U18 Premier League, Premier League 2, Premier League Cup, FA Youth Cup and National League Cup, he has scored eight goals and registered two assists in around 1,300 minutes. That’s 20 goals scored nine assisted in just over a season-and-a-half. The numbers are encouraging, but more telling is the way he has grown into games and taken on responsibility.
Physically, he stands out immediately. Well over 6ft and powerfully built, Geragusian is already imposing in youth football. He can pin centre-backs with his back to goal, attack crosses with conviction and drive forward with long, powerful strides. He is capable of operating on the right wing, the left wing or as a central forward, and that flexibility has been a real asset within the academy set-up.
That physical profile is both an advantage and, in development terms, a natural point of curiosity. When a player matures early and dominates physically at youth level, it can sometimes be difficult to project how that translates once they come up against senior defenders of similar size and strength. The key for Geragusian will be ensuring that his technical detail, decision-making and movement continue to evolve as the physical gap narrows. So far, there are signs that his game is becoming more rounded rather than plateauing.
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He is, without doubt, an exciting prospect that supporters should keep an eye on. There is personality there too. His teammates have hilariously nicknamed him “Chicken” - a playful nod to the way his surname sounds vaguely like goujon - and the name has stuck around the training ground. Internationally, Durham-born Geragusian has already built up experience with Armenia at under-19, under-20 and under-21 level, qualifying through his father. That exposure to international football has only added to his maturity.
Geragusian is a boyood Sunderland fan, and that connection is not lost on supporters who value seeing one of their own push through the ranks. Travelling with the senior squad does not guarantee minutes, but it is a clear sign of trust and recognition by Le Bris and a nice reward for his good form and hard work. For a teenager who was still primarily an U18 player not long ago, the Oxford trip represents another step forward. Whether minutes come now or later, Finn Geragusian is firmly on the radar - and very much one to watch.
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