Phil Smith has urged Alex Neil to hand Jack Diamond a chance at Sunderland this season while speaking on The Roar podcast.
Diamond is a player that has ended up coming through the ranks at Sunderland despite never being handed a good enough chance to impress in the first team, racking up just 42 appearances during his short career thus far.
However, last season he was out on loan with Harrogate Town in League Two, where he impressed as he racked up 45 appearances and registered 21 goal involvements, which according to Smith, could be enough to get him a crack at the first team under Neil.
Smith believes that Diamond should be handed a chance to impress this season in the Championship.
He said: “This is a compliment to them both – I haven’t seen a massive amount between Diamond and [Leon] Dajaku over the last year, from what I’ve seen. I just think they’re both very, very talented players, whose end product isn’t entirely consistent at the moment, and you wouldn’t expect that from such young players – especially in Dajaku’s case, because obviously, he had to adjust to a new league.
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“So for me, I’d like to see Diamond get an opportunity, but with Clarke and Roberts in now, it’s very difficult to see him getting the game time he needs to really kick on, which makes me wonder if maybe a top-end League One loan move might be the best move this season, but then, it’s up to Diamond as well, because how many times does he want to go out on loan?”
TIF Thoughts on Diamond’s future…
The winger does certainly have tough competition for places, with Sunderland now having Jack Clarke and Patrick Roberts in their ranks – two players who they managed to prise away from top Premier League outfits over the last few months.
However, given Diamond – who is valued at just £90k (as per Transfermarkt) – is a local lad who knows what it means to pull on the famous red and white shirt, he could add that extra grit and determination when things don’t go well, which could see him become a valuable member of Neil’s squad this season.
Despite being just 22, Diamond has already received high praise in the past from people within the club, with former manager Lee Johnson, labelling Diamond as ‘fantastic’ in the past after he impressed in the EFL Trophy.