'Fantastic' - Sunderland chief reacts after Sunderland conclude impressive midfield transfer deal

Sunderland under-21 boss Graeme Murty is delighted with the signing of Elias Lenz from RB Leipzig.

Lenz recently signed a two-year deal on Wearside having spent time at the club on trial towards the end of last season. The midfielder, who primarily operates as a deep-lying playmaker, captained Leipzig’s under-19 team across the last two campaigns.

The German made his first appearance for Sunderland since signing as Murty’s under-21 side took on Hebburn Town on Thursday evening ahead of the 2024-25 Premier League 2 season. Lenz started in the middle with the Black Cats winning 2-1 on the night.

“We're not looking at Elias as a first-team project,” Murty said when asked by The Echo about the signing of Lens and his first-team potential. “We're looking at Elias as someone who is new in the building, he's got a lot to learn in terms of the way that we operate, and the way that we play. I do have to say he's fantastic to work with.

“His English is obviously excellent and he asks fantastically fascinating questions. So what we do is vastly different from Leipzig and he has great questions, mainly about structure, about body shape, about the tempo of play, about the patterns of play.

“The quicker we can get him up to speed physically because he's had some work visa issues, the better he's going to be placed to actually put that learning into practice. But once again, we're going to be really patient with all the players and make sure that we advance them at the correct rate for them.”