Inside the brilliant and unlikely League One debut that has given Alex Neil a welcome dilemma at Sunderland

Alex Neil stood deep in conversation with Arbenit Xhemajli, the pair soaking in the calm of the DW Stadium before over 20,000 filtered in for a crucial promotion clash.

Neil has not been at Sunderland long but the significance of this moment for the Kosovan was far from lost on him.

The central defender was merely weeks into his move to a new country and a new league when he suffered a major knee injury on international duty, one that would prevent him playing any football for over a year. The recovery was long and arduous, at the height of a pandemic that almost entirely limited social contact.

Even when he made a cathartic return in the U23s and in the Papa John’s Trophy, it felt as if a call like this might never arrive.

Lee Johnson had said that he would make a firmer judgement on the 23-year-old’s readiness for the thrust of League One in the New Year, when had been able not to just to get fit again but gain some sharpness and durability through U23 games.

By the turn of 2022 Xhemajli felt he was ready, but Johnson’s selections suggested that he was unconvinced.

Tellingly, he spoke through the middle of the January window about potentially sourcing a loan move for the Kosovan, who was eager for senior game time.

Though that didn’t happen, it was more of a reflection of Sunderland’s failed efforts to land a new central defender in the final stages of deadline day than any real expectation of a major role in the weeks ahead.

As recently as last Tuesday, Neil was bemoaning the absence of another left-footed central defender in his squad, arguing that it made it difficult for him to give Callum Doyle the rest he so badly needed.

He was eager to point out on Friday morning in his pre-match press conference that did not mean Xhemajli had been ruled out, but even then he said that expectations would have to be managed.

"I'd say that in two years, I think he's played nine U23 games," Neil said.

“Any manager in my position would I think view it the exact same way, that with 12 games left it would be really, really difficult for a lad with such limited game time to come in and be the guy that is going to drag us forward in these remaining games. That's a really tough task for anybody.”

By now, he had already arrived at the conclusion that Doyle would need a rest and with Danny Batth still struggling with ankle swelling, he had decided it was a gamble worth taking. It was one of the biggest selection calls of Neil’s tenure so far, and it paid off handsomely.

If there had been doubts about Xhemajli’s readiness on the back of those U23 performances, then his display showed that you never truly know about a player until they are in the heart of the contest.

In that exchange before kick off, the player himself made clear that he was ready.

“I have told him I am going to be ready and I’m made for these games,” Xhemajli said afterwards.

“I’ve told him as well there are no excuses from my side because I have to deliver.”

Remarkably, he had been feeling some discomfort in his calf since Thursday, but it was nothing that he was going to let stand in the way of the opportunity he had been presented.

Neil had drawn up a game plan designed primarily to protect his defence, asking his two wide players to provide significant protection to their full backs. By dropping his side’s defensive line deeper and dispensing with the man-to-man marking he has sometimes employed since arriving, he ensured that Xhemajli (and others in the backline) were very rarely exposed to the kind of 1-v-1 footrace that they would likely struggle in.

All the same, there was much defensive work to be done.

Unsurprisingly, Wigan targeted that left-hand channel right from the off. Josh Magennis is a forward who has caused Sunderland significant problems in the past, and he was quite clearly dropping into Xhemajli and Dennis Cirkin early on.

That he would be substituted with half an hour of the game to play said everything about Xhemajli (and increasingly Cirkin, who was also excellent) managed the challenge.

The Kosovan won eight aerial duels, a total that exceeded any other player on the pitch. Only Jay Matete won a greater percentage of his aerial duels, and that was from a smaller sample size and in far less pressurised situations. Wigan gambled on being the latest side capable of exposing Sunderland’s soft underbelly, but ended up making little progress.

Though his pass completion rate was less impressive, that does not reflect the fact that his low-risk approach suited the task he had been given, often playing into the channels to help relieve the pressure on his side and get them up the pitch. One outstanding switch of play under pressure showed he has the capability on the ball.

There were nervy moments, for sure, and Neil’s previous warnings were underlined when the defender suffered cramp late on, conducting his post-match press duties with his ankle on ice.

From here on in Xhemajli will have to be carefully managed, and expectations kept realistic.

But Neil knows for sure that he has another option should Doyle tire, and above all else he knows he has another player in his squad capable of withstanding the pressure of a promotion push.

Most telling was the reaction of players and staff, their joy underlining what an impression Xhemajli’s humble personality has made. It was a most timely and most celebrated arrival on the League One stage.

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