'Stronger!' - Sunderland figure delivers promising striker verdict after 10/10 performance and hat-trick
The £2.5million Sunderland striker netted a hat-trick for the under-21s as his rehabilitation from injury continues.
Sunderland under-21s lead coach Graeme Murty has delivered a promising verdict on striker Ahmed Abdullahi.
The striker started for the young Black Cats against Huddersfield Town in the Premier League Cup on Tuesday evening and netted an impressive hat-trick at Hetton, taking his tally to four goals in two games for Murty’s under-21s and earning him a 10/10 player rating.
Abdullahi, 20, signed from Gent on deadline day for a fee rumoured to be around £2.5million in the summer, but after closer assessment of a pre-existing groin surgery, Sunderland decided that surgery was required.
After around three months of recovery, Abdullahi returned to full training and featured twice for the under-21s. He then needed another short period of rest after picking up a couple of slight injuries as a result of his return to competitive football. Murty, however, remarked after the game against Huddersfield that the forward is starting to build momentum in a Sunderland shirt.
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“He looks fitter, he looks stronger,” Murty told The Echo. “I think he looks more confident in himself and his body. I think that whenever we can provide an opportunity at the end stage of rehab to instil confidence in a player who's been out for a period, in their body, in what they're trying to do, it's a really good thing for us.
“I think the goals are a bonus. The goals, you can see him actually coming alive when he's starting to trust what he's doing and he's getting that reward. For a forward player, I think particularly getting a hat-trick tonight is going to be really good for him.
“Having been an athlete where your be-all and end-all is that game. When that game isn't there for you, you miss it so much. You just want to get back there as soon as you can. He's getting closer. He's almost smelling it now.
“For him to see that tangible improvement in his performance, that really puts into context the hard work he's doing away from here. No-one gets to see the hard yards, the bits where you're in pain to actually get to the next level. That hopefully will give him the stimulus to continue to move on and hopefully get his next step,” Murty concluded.