Sunderland AFC are already awash with World Cup players — if you include Simon Adingra and the recently-departed Arthur Masuaku, the club’s representation at the biggest tournament ever amounted to twelve players, one of the largest contingents of any team in the world.
But, apparently, that wasn’t enough for Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and Florent Ghisolfi, and barely had the transfer window opened when they snapped up Belgian international Thomas Meunier.
The former PSG and Borussia Dortmund defender’s contract
at Lille had expired, and he appears to be exactly the sort of experienced player who will be needed, as the Black Cats embark on their first European campaign in more than fifty years.
He wasn’t a player who was familiar to me but, with over eighty caps for a hugely talented Belgium team which somehow never quite fulfilled its potential, it’s clear that his pedigree at both club and country level is unarguable. And in his first two games in red and white, it appears that we’ve signed a Rolls Royce of a right back!
His 35th birthday is fast approaching, yet you would be hard-pressed to age Meunier based on his performances.
He gets up and down the right flank with the athleticism of a player a decade younger, and he oozes class — an accomplished defender blessed with an exquisite touch. His beautifully struck first-time cross against Fulham fully deserved a striker’s boot on the end of it but sadly, it flew across the six-yard box unfinished.
He also has an eye for a shot — his strike from the touchline against Ipswich almost caught Kjell Scherpen out, and he registered Sunderland’s first shot on goal against Fulham.
Meunier also brings far more to the table than skill and experience.
His comments in the wake of the Ipswich defeat and his performances speak to an individual who possesses the most important attribute of the Régis Le Bris era: attitude. The success that Sunderland have enjoyed in the last few years hasn’t simply been built on good players — it’s been founded on good players with the right mentality who buy into the ethos of the club.
Meunier shows every sign that he’s fully aligned with the values that the recruitment team are striving to enlist.
Not only that, he clearly shares the same dedicated professionalism and leadership qualities which Granit Xhaka displays. He may be less demonstrative than his Swiss counterpart but watch him closely and you’ll see him directing his colleagues in their defensive duties. It’s already clear that, like Xhaka, Meunier is an individual who will drive standards in the squad.
Alongside Trai Hume and Nordi Mukiele, Meunier not only provides depth on the right side of defence in a squad facing the demands of competing in the Premier League and the Europa League, but that he brings a wealth of high level European experience.
He has more than forty Champions League appearances to his name and he knows the Europa League well, having appeared in that competition on thirty three occasions. Whether it’s the thunderous Ultras of Poznan in October or the iconic San Siro in December, they’re unlikely to faze the Belgian.
The player whose position appears most at risk is Hume.
Meunier fills his natural position, and the signing of a genuine right winger might push him out of his ‘hybrid’ role. Hume seems to have been around forever; it’s sometimes easy to forget that he’s still only twenty four, and in Meunier and Reinildo, we now have top quality experience on both sides of the defence, and two absolutely perfect mentors for Hume and Dayann Methalie to push them, and help them improve and develop.
The last player to wear the No.12 shirt for Sunderland was Eliezer Mayenda, and it took a while for the fanbase to find a song which included his name.
Meunier’s may present a similar challenge but I suspect that it won’t be long before the fanbase find something appropriate to celebrate the stylish and composed Belgian defender.
