Tony Mowbray’s surprising Bradley Dack call and how Sunderland’s new signing fared at Preston

While confident in his own ability, even Bradley Dack may have been a little surprised to be thrown into Sunderland’s starting XI for their trip to Preston.

Just a few days earlier the 29-year-old had said he’d probably be ready to start a match in one or two weeks, after missing most of pre-season before his move to the Stadium of Light.

Yet Black Cats boss Tony Mowbray opted to play Dack in a false nine position at Deepdale, with centre-forward Hemir dropping to the bench, feeling it would be more beneficial against Preston’s three centre-backs.

Despite starting in a central position, Dack regularly dropped deeper and drifted over to the right, where he could link up with Patrick Roberts, who clearly had the beating of Preston’s 17-year-old left wing-back Kian Best.

While Sunderland eventually lost the match 2-1, it was a tactic which worked well in the early stages, with Dack completing 21 of his 25 attempted passes in the opening 45 minutes, regularly looking to release Roberts down the flank.

The downside to that strategy was the visitors then lacked a presence in the box, with Jobe Bellingham taking up a central attacking position.

Out of possession Dack was often Sunderland’s most advanced player in a 4-2-3-1 set-up, yet it was difficult to apply pressure against Preston’s three central defenders.

With the player still building up his match fitness after leaving Blackburn in May, it was understandable Sunderland’s new signing faded in the second half, before being replaced by Hemir in the 66th minute.

During the 20 minutes he was on the pitch after half-time, Dack received just four passes as the visitors endured a difficult spell which saw them fall 2-1 behind.

With Sunderland still looking to bolster their striker options in the final few weeks of the transfer window, it’s likely Dack will be deployed in more of a No 10 role later in the season - the position he often occupied at Blackburn.

The early signs here, and against Crewe in the Carabao Cup, have suggested the 29-year-old can be very effective when he has others to link with and play off.

Yet, despite the abilities of Dack, Roberts, Bellingham and Jack Clarke, Sunderland are still lacking that cutting edge in the final third.