Marco Gabbiadini picks out Sunderland pair who offer 'great example' to teammates

Sunderland legend Marco Gabbiadini has claimed that Black Cats duo Dan Ballard and Trai Hume are a “great example” to their international teammates as to how they can develop into Premier League-calibre players.

Both defenders have featured prominently for Northern Ireland during the current international break, and were unfortunate to be on the losing side against Germany on Monday evening. Indeed, Ballard had the ball in the back of the net only for his strike to be ruled out prior to Nick Woltemade’s winner in a narrow 1-0 defeat, and the towering centre-back earned plenty of plaudits for his overall display too.

The 26-year-old came in for high praise from both the national press and his head coach, Michael O’Neill. While various outlets described Ballard as “magnificent”, “outstanding”, and a “constant threat” in the opposition box, his boss said: "I thought Dan Ballard was fantastic for the 90 minutes – he looked like a top, top-class centre-back.”

Hume and Ballard were two of just three players in Northern Ireland’s starting XI who currently ply their trade in the Premier League - with the other being Crystal Palace’s Justin Devenny - but having worked their way up through the EFL to get to the top flight, Gabbiadini has suggested that the pair can act as something of an inspiration to their peers.

What has Marco Gabbiadini said about Sunderland duo Trai Hume and Dan Ballard?

Speaking on BBC Radio Newcastle’s Total Sport, when asked about Hume’s growth at both domestic and international level, the pundit said: “I think you can put Ballard with that as well. I think Ballard was a player who had a huge influence last season. He's scored a crucial goal, was a man of the match quite often in a lot of his appearances. Sadly, a little bit too many injuries last season. But look, it's a great motivation for him to go away and play for their country.

“And I think, as he said there, Northern Ireland started with an all-Championship midfield in that last game [vs Germany]. So it shows you that they're players who are looking to step up, looking to get into the Premier League, wanting to take their careers further. And I think Ballard and Hulme will be a great example to them. That's the kind of thing that Michael O'Neill, the manager, will be really pleased about - that he's got players like that in the squad.”

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What else has Michael O’Neill said about Sunderland defender Dan Ballard?

Speaking in a press conference prior to Friday evening’s 2-0 win over Slovakia, Northern Ireland head coach O’Neill was quick to laud Ballard for his admirable career progression - and the way in which he has achieved it.

As quoted by the Belfast News Letter, he said: "It's a great story because Daniel epitomises how you should react to disappointment in football. He obviously had the disappointment at Arsenal but his reaction to that and how he's played his way up through from Blackpool and Millwall on loan and then to Sunderland. We thought about buying him at Stoke but he was too expensive for us at that time so we weren't able to do that deal.

"The most important thing is that you have belief in yourself that you can get to that level and Daniel has had that. We have players at the minute who are out on loan and are on a similar journey and it's not all plain sailing. The loan doesn't always go well and Daniel would have had up and down periods in his loans as well, so I think it's great to see him get to this level - he deserves it.

“So sometimes I think maybe when you play through the leagues you really appreciate that you're now in the Premier League and you're not going to let it slip because you've seen the other side of the game.”

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