Calum Mills says…
The potential loss of someone as energetic and dynamic as Noah Sadiki isn’t great news.
I feel his relentless pressing against a team struggling at the bottom of the league would’ve been a sure fire way
to force them into mistakes on which we could capitalise and rack up a significant scoreline, but as I said at the time of learning about Habib Diarra’s stint in the treatment room, we have able deputies.
Lutsharel Geertruida, Dan Neil, Chris Rigg, Enzo Le Fée, Luke O’Nien or Trai Hume could slot in nicely, and whichever formation Régis Le Bris decides to go with will also have part to play.
Will it be three in the middle or two? Will we go with five at the back, or four?
I do think Enzo will be the replacement — a workhorse who tracks back to support centrally and whoever’s at left back.
His tenacity and work rate is second to none, as we’ve seen over the last ten months in a Sunderland shirt. He’s made some brilliant tackles this season too and clearly doesn’t mind doing the dirty work. If this is the case, Simon Adingra will likely come back in on the left with Chemsdine Talbi on the right.
Could we see a spanner thrown in the works and Dan Neil start? Either way, I can’t see lightning striking twice and Le Bris getting the starting line up and formation wrong for a second game in a row.
Jon Guy says…
I think Régis Le Bris will go for Enzo Le Fée.
Sadiki has been a real bonus this season and the injury is a real blow as we’ve quickly come to see the pace in the Premier League is at another level, but Le Fée brings a lot to the team in a different way and he’s never afraid to put a shift in.
We’re playing a Wolves team that looks to be in real trouble but they really should’ve come away from Spurs with something, so they’re starting to find their feet. It’ll be a tough test, but every game in this league is.
I’ve been really impressed with what I’ve seen of Lutsharel Geetruida, and he’ll be a big player for the team in the weeks and months to come.
However, I’d go with Le Fée, as he has the ability to create a chance out of nothing and he’ll want to make his mark as the depth of the squad is such that if you’re not on your game, there’s plenty of options.
Joseph Tulip says…
I’d like Dan Neil to play, but there are two matters at large here.
One is the task at hand — winning a very important home match against Wolves, and other is the enigma of Neil’s situation at Sunderland.
I want Neil to play (should Noah Sadiki be unavailable) because I want his protracted absence from the team and unresolved contract situation to be sorted. I want Neil to have a future at Sunderland and I want him to be given a chance to prove his worth as a Premier League midfielder.
I think Saturday’s game will go some distance towards telling us more about Neil’s current standing at Sunderland.
Do I think he could fill in for Sadiki? Absolutely, but he’s a different type of player. There are other candidates and Lutsharel Geertruida may well be more of a like-for-like replacement for Sadiki, given his athleticism and physicality.
Nevertheless, I’d be keen to start Neil, who’s no stranger to a strong tackle and has ball-playing credentials, and save the versatile Geertruida for defensive duties if called upon from the bench.
I’d love to see Neil start, but I don’t see it happening and I think we’ll see either Geertruida or Chris Rigg in the centre with Granit Xhaka and Enzo Le Fée.
All are good options and it will be interesting to see what Régis Le Bris has in mind come Saturday.
Regardless of what formation we play, I don’t think it’ll be affected by Sadiki being unavailable, as we have enough cover.
Matthew Crichton says…
Should Noah Sadiki be injured for Wolves, I think the best like-for-like replacement would be Lutsharel Geertruida.
Sadiki has been brilliant so far this season. His work rate is magnificent; he drives forward with the ball and he loves a tackle.
Chris Rigg and Dan Neil are potential options but I think Régis Le Bris is most likely to opt for the Dutchman as from what I’ve seen so far, he’s most likely to do the job Sadiki has done.
During his brief cameo appearances, the Leipzig loanee has looked incredibly energetic. He loves a tackle and as we saw against Nottingham Forest with that late surge, he isn’t bad going forward either.
As it’s a home match, I expect Le Bris to be more offensive in his setup, so I think for balance purposes selecting a more defensively-capable midfielder would be a sensible approach. Plus, with Granit Xhaka being less mobile, it’s worked well by having more energy around him centrally, which Geertruida can provide.
My concern with flooding our midfield with more offensive midfielders is that it could leave Xhaka quite exposed and also our midfield lacking defensive steel.
Handing Geertruida a debut to see what he can really do I think would be the best option to provide balance and as a more like-for-like replacement.
