I watched summer signing Ahmed Abdullahi make his debut for Sunderland U21s - here's what I noticed

He exists, folks, and I’ve seen him with my own two eyes. While Wilson Isidor was enduring the mother of all waking nightmares at Turf Moor on Friday evening, another Sunderland striker was emerging from the folkloric realm to prove once and for all that he is, in fact, not a figment of our collective imagination.

Ahmed Abdullahi has been sidelined with a groin complaint ever since he signed for the Black Cats over the summer, but late last week, with the first team dominating headlines and frustrations, the 20-year-old made a muted return to action in a Premier League 2 clash against West Ham.

It is a path that several before him have already trod. Both the aforementioned Isidor and the recently-departed Aaron Connolly took the tentative step of minutes with Graeme Murty’s developmental side before graduating to the cut and thrust of the senior squad. And like his predecessors, Abdullahi is evidently going to be eased into proceedings with a patience and forbearance that feels befitting of Le Bris’ softly-spoken revolution.

The Echo has launched a new WhatsApp SAFC Channel to bring the latest news, analysis and team & injury updates direct to your phone. Simply click this link to join our SAFC WhatsApp channel.

The Nigerian lasted 45 minutes of a 1-0 defeat in East London, and as the scoreline suggests, his was hardly a debut of which they will write epic ballads. But there were moments of undoubted promise. His first real involvement, for instance, came a quarter of an hour in, dropping deep into the viscera of midfield to lay off a tidy pass before receiving the ball on the half turn and arrowing a diagonal out to the right flank. It was simple, economical stuff - exactly the kind of bread and butter centre-forward work on which effective front lines are sustained.

Ten minutes later and Abdullahi registered his first shot in red and white, a fairly polite effort from the edge of the box that did little to trouble Finlay Herrick on the Hammers net, but that, if nothing else, hinted towards a willingness to buy proverbial tickets in an effort to win proverbial raffles.

There were other pleasing aspects too. For one thing, the attacker is a proper unit, a focal point of looming proportions. For another, he looks more than willing to put in the hard yards - to hassle dawdling goalkeepers and cling obstinately to apparent lost causes. You suspect that his fervour in both regards will only increase as he coaxes himself back towards match fitness.

Of course, by no means was this the display of a finished article. Even over the span of a single half, there were passages during which Abdullahi looked a tad leggy, as if he was wearing concrete insoles in his size nines. Then again, what more can you expect? The lad hasn’t kicked a ball in months; his sharpness will come in time. There were flashes of wastefulness too - long balls into nothingness, attempts to burst past scampering full-backs that ultimately fizzled damply.

And that, in truth, was about it; nothing earth-shattering, nothing calamitous. Just 45 much-needed minutes from a player who Sunderland fans have been crying out to get a glimpse of. For Abdullahi himself, the relief will be that he came through his comeback unscathed. For everybody else on Wearside, the hope will be that he can build on a perfectly steady introduction with view to contributing at a first team level in the near future. Based on first impressions, there are no reasons as to why shouldn’t be able to do exactly that.