Phil Parkinson on what's next for Sunderland trio Elliot Embleton, Jack Diamond & Dan Neil

The integration of academy talents has been a major talking point in the early weeks of the season, particularly as Parkinson has pointed to the likes of Embleton and Dan Neil as one reason for his exclusion of Aiden McGeady.

In response to questions on their gametime, Parkinson had pointed to the recent two cup fixtures as a moment where they would be given an opportunity.

Embleton made a successful return, but Parkinson has urged caution after his long absence with injury.

Jack Diamond is likely to be part of the matchday squad on Saturday, with both Tom Flanagan and Conor McLaughlin away on international duty with Northern Ireland.

"They've all made good progress in different ways, really," Parkinson said.

"Jack we've been pleased with, he's got real pace and power. There are areas of his game he's got to get better at but you'd expect that for a young player.

"Elliot is still a project going forward, really.

"As you can imagine, he was very stiff and sore after Tuesday night.

"The likelihood is that he won't be involved this weekend, but there's no fresh injury with that. It's just that when you haven't played for over a year, your body is going to take a while to recover.

"But we're very pleased with him, and psychologically to get him through that game was huge.

"With both him and Jack, I think the loan moves really helped them," he added.

"I was talking to Embo about it this week. When you're on loan at Grimsby, you learn things that are hard to teach on a training pitch. The different types of games, different pressures within games.

"It's the same with Jack, part of a promotion season in a difficult league.

"That really enhanced their progression."

Parkinson had said throughout Embleton's time on the sidelines that there would be a role for him on his return.

With Diamond and Neil, the Black Cats boss has said that the plan would be to give them until January to push their way into the senior group.

A loan move would then be considered if their gametime remains limited.

Though Parkinson said Neil had his best 45 minutes for the club in the first half of the 2-1 defeat to Fleetwood, he looks at this stage to be behind Embleton and Diamond.

At 18, his first-team experience is significantly lighter.

"Dan is obviously a bit younger than the other two," Parkinson said.

"He emerged on the scene in the pre-season, did really well and has now had three games at first-team level. That's good progression for him.

"Dan hasn't had as much, but he has been a real bonus for us.

"We knew he was a good player, but he'd had his early career disrupted a bit by injury.

"He was impressive in pre-season, his levels in training dipped a little bit at times, as you would expect, but he is a talent."

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