Jack Ross reacts to a hugely promising Sunderland debut from Ruben Sammut

Jack Ross praised Ruben Sammut for taking his opportunity to impress against Benfica B.
Ruben Sammut made an encouraging debut for Sunderland in PortugalRuben Sammut made an encouraging debut for Sunderland in Portugal
Ruben Sammut made an encouraging debut for Sunderland in Portugal

The former Chelsea youngster was recruited as part of the U23 squad in the summer following a short loan spell last season.

Sammut was given the chance to travel to Portugal and came on at half-time on Thursday night.

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He impressed with his energy and intelligence, playing his part in some promising moves.

The 21-year-old almost got on the scoresheet, racing to be the first player to meet the ball after Duncan Watmore fired an effort off the crossbar. Sammut just couldn’t make a clean enough connection and his effort was cleared.

“Ruben was recruited as part of the U23 squad as a number of the new players have been,” Ross said.

“But we know that the age he’s at, the experience he’s had, he really needs to either push with us or go out on loan because he’s at the latter part of his U23 years.

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“What he’s done is every time he’s trained with me in the pre-season period, which has been intermittently, he’s made an impression every time he’s been on the pitch,” he added.

“He’s a really, really fit boy, incredibly fit. When young players come over you want them to make an impression and he’s done that, tonight he had a really good impact on the game.

“I’m pleased with him, you often get someone who makes an impact early and he’s done that today.”

Sammut also had a short spell at Falkirk last season, making 10 appearances for the Scottish club.