Aiden McGeady has been speaking about Sunderland winger Chemsdine Talbi.

Former Sunderland star Aiden McGeady has backed current Black Cats star Chemsdine Talbi to kick on and nail down a consistent starting spot next season.

The Moroccan international enjoyed a positive debut campaign in England, scoring four goals and assisting two more across 28 Premier League outings last term. Of those 28 appearances, however, just 16 came as part of Regis Le Bris’ starting XI, with the Sunderland boss frequently rotating his options in wide areas. Over the course of the summer, however, Talbi has registered a series of promising displays as part of Morocco’s World Cup squad, and in McGeady’s opinion, that experience - coupled with his penchant for producing key goals at important junctures - could provide a solid foundation for him to develop into a notable presence for the Black Cats over the coming months.

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Asked initially about the need for Sunderland to bring in a new right-sided attacker this summer during an interview with The Echo, courtesy of BetBrain, McGeady responded: “There's been quite a few there that were tried there last season, wasn't there? But there's not really been one player that's put a claim to a starting right winger spot. I'd probably even say you could say that about the left as well.”

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Turning his attention to Talbi’s personal growth since signing for Sunderland - and his high ceiling of potential - McGeady added: “I really like Talbi, from what I've seen of him. Look, he's very young and he's going to be inconsistent, as is the case with any winger. It's the nature of the game. But I like Talbi from what I've seen of him. He had a decent World Cup, played a lot of the big games, was trusted to play in the big games.

“Direct, quick, I think he's got good feet, and the games I watched last season, I was impressed with him. He scored a lot of big goals as well at times last season. I think, this could be, not a breakout season, but a season where I think he does nail down a starting spot and he is the relied upon left winger. If he's going to play left wing or right wing, I prefer him on the left.”

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