Chris Coleman wins praise for show of faith in Sunderland youngsters as Elliot Embleton makes debut

With Sunderland hanging on for a point at Wolves, Sunderland boss Chris Coleman handed promising youngster Elliot Embleton his Black Cats debut.
Elliot EmbletonElliot Embleton
Elliot Embleton

That show of faith in the latter stages at Molineux has been praised by Embleton’s Under-23 coach Elliott Dickman.

The England Under-20 midfielder came on for Lynden Gooch in the 89th minute but with five minutes of added-on time it was a nerve-jangling finish in the Midlands.

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Embleton didn’t let anybody down and Dickman was delighted to see the 18-year-old academy product make his debut.

Dickman said: “Elliot has been in and around the first team a while now, he has been on the bench before and it’s great he got his opportunity for the first team.

“To trust a young player in such a tight game when you are down to 10 men and hanging in for a point, to stick a young lad on for his debut at the age of 18 is fantastic. The gaffer and Kit Symons have both been fantastic, we have a group of staff really interested in the lads and they train over there quite a bit.

“To put him on in a game like Wolves is fantastic for Elliot, great that he has the manager’s trust. Everyone in the academy is pleased and delighted for him and his family.

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“What people don’t see behind the scenes is the parents travelling, taking him to training and being there, supporting and it is not just one year, it is over a good 10, 11, 12-year period.

“He has a good support network and we are delighted he managed to get on the pitch.”

Joel Asoro and Thomas Beadling were also on the bench, with academy graduates Lynden Gooch and George Honeyman handed starts. Denver Hume travelled but wasn’t part of the squad.

Dickman added: “Our job is to get these lads into our first team,

“The fact there was a number at Wolves is a credit to everyone involved in the Academy and a credit to the first team staff for having faith.”