While Nottingham Forest try to grow accustomed to Ange Postecoglou in the City Ground dug-out, Sunderland look more than content with Regis Le Bris steering their own ship.
Indeed, off the back of another battling victory in the Premier League courtesy of Omar Alderete’s first-half header, Le Bris’ Black Cats find themselves sat in a dizzying third position in the current league standings, with the Frenchman looking to be the perfect fit for the Wearside outfit, even when performing up a division.
Alderete is yet another fine example of Sunderland striking gold in the transfer market, with the Paraguayan now six Premier League games down in the heart of the Black Cats’ defence without ever looking out of place.
Both Granit Xhaka and Robin Roefs also fit into this glowing assessment, with the gritty pair once again proving to be invaluable purchases this summer as more early Premier League points are accumulated.
How Xhaka and Roefs have become so important at Sunderland
Xhaka signing for Sunderland for just £17m did raise many an eyebrow this summer, with lots of outsiders looking in commenting on the top-flight newcomers winning themselves a golden bargain.
Again, he led by example against the Tricky Trees when donning the captain’s armband, with seven duels won, showing off plenty of energy centrally, while also winning three fouls to disrupt the home side’s flow and edge Sunderland ever closer to their first away win in the top-flight this campaign.
He even showed off his quality on the ball, too, when collecting his third assist of the season for Alderete to win the tight affair. But, Sunderland – again – had to thank their lucky stars defensively that they swooped in for Robin Roefs to boost their goalkeeper spot this summer.
Without the Dutchman’s timely saves, with Roefs tallying up a weighty six in total, a first win on the road would have been far trickier to collect. Amazingly, the ex-NEC Nijmegen stopper prevented 2.16 goals across the entire course of the frustrating contest for Postecoglou and Co.
With Roefs only shipping four goals all season long, Sunderland must be in dreamland at how easy he’s made the transition to English shores look.
However, he and Xhaka are not the only star performers purchased from Europe now making a name for themselves.
8/10 star is fast becoming one of Le Bris' best players
Of course, it’s unrealistic to anticipate that Sunderland will keep this unbelievable form up for the entire marathon ahead.
Yet, the early signs are clear that the Black Cats will be ready for any relegation battle that might ensue, particularly if Noah Sadiki keeps up his sensational performance levels in some dogged contests to come.
The determined number 27 shone once more against Postecoglou’s challenging hosts, with Sadiki going on to win six of his eight ground duels in the lively clash in a bid to protect the Sunderland defence.
But, much like Xhaka next to him, Sadiki also displayed flashes of his excellence when driving his team forward, misplacing just two of his 30 passes (93% success rate) on the day as a cool customer, while also completing one successful dribble when he wasn’t regularly getting stuck in.
Games played
6
Games started
6
Minutes averaged
89
Goals scored
0
Assists
0
Touches*
46.7
Accurate passes*
28.8 (86%)
Ball recoveries*
2.2
Total duels won*
3.8
With Habib Diarra now out with a worrying injury, too, Sadiki’s importance to the cause will have only grown from the middle of the park, with the 20-year-old instantly becoming both a fan’s favourite with the Sunderland masses and a favourite of Le Bris, as well, with these all-around showings, as seen in his overall Premier League numbers in the table above.
Gifted a high 8/10 rating post-match by Roker Report writer Andy Tomlinson, who stated that Sadiki “covered every blade of grass” when needed, it’s becoming clearer by the game now that the former Royale Union Saint-Gilloise star is one of the first names on Le Bris’ teamsheet.
He might not be as instantly headline-grabbing as Xhaka or Roefs with goals, assists, and saves aplenty.
Still, if Sadiki can keep these sublime displays coming, he will surely be remembered as yet another vital part of this Sunderland team that made Premier League survival look like a walk in the park.
