With reports emanating from Turkey that Arthur Masuaku may be open to a return to his former side, Beşiktaş, in January, would it be in Sunderland’s best interests to allow the former West Ham player to move on?
The slew of new recruits that arrived at the Academy of Light during the summer added much-needed quality and experience to a youthful Championship squad. Promising youngsters were still recruited – Robin Roefs, Noah Sadiki, Habib Diarra, Chemsdine Talbi, Simon Adingra and Brian Brobbey are
all players whose potential is yet to be fulfilled, and whose value should increase exponentially if they reach the heights that their trajectory could take them to.
But players such as Granit Xhaka, Reinildo, Nordi Mukiele, Bertrand Traore and Omar Alderete were an entirely different proposition, and a significant departure from the model which has brought the club so far in such a relatively short time.
They are additions who could be described as not only talented but battle-hardened, recruited from teams playing top-flight European football, with most being seasoned internationals. Loan signing Lutsharel Geertruida can be included in that category, and, between them, that streetwise group of players have brought much-needed maturity and nous to a squad facing the challenge of adjusting to life in the Premier League. They have all self-evidently bought into the principles that Régis Le Bris’ model of football demands.
More importantly, they have gelled together remarkably quickly with the youthful recruits and the survivors of the promotion-winning side to become a formidably cohesive force, much to the surprise of footballing experts who had earmarked Sunderland for a quick return to the Championship.
Of that experienced group, Bertrand Traore has probably taken the longest to settle, but his Premier League experience has started to assert itself, with much-improved performances against Everton and Arsenal. Le Bris obviously sees him as a key starter, capable of supporting Trai Hume to close down the right flank defensively whilst providing a threat from the wing, as the side seeks to contain the array of talent that established Premier League teams inevitably have at their disposal, in the first 60 minutes of a game. Having fulfilled his role, he is withdrawn to make way for the younger finishers to exploit tiring defenders ‘til the end.
The one experienced player who has yet to make an impact on the squad is Arthur Masuaku. He had the opportunity to step up when Reinildo’s rash red card against Aston Villa opened up a vacancy on the left side of the defence. After a difficult game against Manchester United, where, admittedly, he wasn’t afforded the best support from his winger, it appears that Le Bris has seen enough.
With a surfeit of defensive talent at his disposal, the French coach opted to move the versatile Trai Hume from the right flank to deputise for the remainder of the Mozambique international’s absence.
It is difficult to establish how credible the press reports that Masuaku is unhappy at Sunderland are, but with him seemingly out of favour, and Dennis Cirkin on course for the exit door as his contract runs down with no sign of an extension in sight, perhaps the January window would be an opportune time to explore other options.
Reinildo appears to have learned from his red card indiscretion, and he is proving to be physically resilient; the option still exists of Hume providing cover. It may therefore be an opportunity to revert to the youthful element of the model, to bring a young left back with potential and allow Masuaku to pursue the latter part of his career elsewhere.
