Sunderland Echo journalists Mark Donnelly, Phil Smith and James Copley discussed all of the latest Sunderland news on the most recent edition of The Roar Podcast and they spent some time talking about Elliot Embleton during the show.
Embleton is yet to make an appearance for Sunderland’s first-team this season as he has been out of action due to injury but he did play and score both goals for the North East club’s U23s in a 2-0 win over Aston Villa’s U23s in late October.
It isn’t certain that the 21-year-old will be back in senior action for the Black Cats this week but he is now said to be ‘close’ to a comeback and Smith shared some excitement over the midfielder and the possibility he will return soon during this recent edition of The Roar Podcast, saying:
“Embleton’s massive. Embleton is absolutely huge. I think for all, it’s been a good start to the season for Sunderland, I still think they’re missing something in the attacking midfield.
“Not necessarily all through the game, but I just think they need somebody who can bring them a little bit of calm in possession, can kind of pick that pass on the edge of the box and I really do think Embleton can be that player.
“He’s two-footed, he really backs himself, he’s got a lot of composure, so I really hope he stays fit because I definitely think he’s got a part to play this season.”
Does Embleton have a big role to play for Sunderland this season?
YES
NO
TIF Thoughts on what Smith had to say about Embleton…
Embleton has made just nine appearances for Sunderland’s first-team squad thus far in his career. Two of those came in the Championship in the 2017/18 campaign and three of those appearances came in League One.
With that in mind, it may be fair to say that the Black Cats academy product is yet to really play much of a part for the North East club at senior level.
However, Embleton did impress in League Two during a loan spell with Grimsby Town during the 2018/19 campaign, when he was their joint-third-highest goalscorer (three) and joint-second-highest assist provider (three) in the league.
Injuries prevented the 21-year-old from making much of an impact for the Black Cats last season following that loan spell and they have clearly continued to hinder his game-time so far this term, but it may be understandable why Smith thinks he has “got a part to play” at The Stadium of Light given the promise he has shown in the past.
Hopefully, the midfielder who was ‘hotly tipped as one of [Sunderland’s] brightest hopes’ not that long ago can put his injury issues behind him when he makes his return to first-team action, as it would be a shame for such a highly-rated prospect to spend a large portion of another season sidelined due to injury.