'He's keen...' - Sunderland man reveals £2.5m striker frustration after summer transfer and injury issue

Sunderland under-21s lead coach Graeme Murty has stated striker Ahmed Abdullahi is keen to progress his career after a frustrating start to life on Wearside.

Abdullahi signed from Gent on deadline day for a fee rumoured to be around £2.5million in the summer, but after closer assessment of a pre-existing groin surgery, Sunderland decided that surgery was required. After around three months of recovery, Abdullahi returned to full training and featured twice in the U21s. The 20-year-old then needed another short period of rest after picking up a couple of slight injuries as a result of his return to competitive football.

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Abdullahi took a major step forward on Friday afternoon when he played 45 minutes and scored in a 5-0 win for the U21s against Wolves at the Academy of Light, and Le Bris wants him to work his way up to playing a full game for Graeme Murty’s side before coming to the first-team fold.

“It was good and he can start to see the things that we're trying to do and I thought you saw some of his attributes coming out,” Murty said after the game against Wolves in the Premier League 2 at the Academy of Light on Friday afternoon.

“Obviously, he's really keen. He wants to do really well. He's been frustrated by his time and the challenges he's faced but, once again, he's been really good to work with. He's been really bubbly in and around the group. He's another one that you hope now uses this as a springboard to go forward.”

What has Régis Le Bris said about Ahmed Abdullahi?

“He struggled a little bit with his return to play,” Le Bris said ahead of Sunderland’s game against Watford in the Championship, when he included youth striker Trey Ogunsuyi on the bench instead of Abdullahi after he played the day before against Wolves.

“He was ready, but then after that he had some small issues. It wasn’t a repeat of his main injury, but it was something around the injury. Now, he is ready to play, so we will see what happens. I hope he will be ready to play some games progressively – 45 minutes, 60, then a full game with the U21s to build himself into his best shape.”

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