Sunderland boss claims academy duo are 'moving towards something really good' after impressive recent form
Harrison and Jaydon Jones have both shone in recent weeks.
Sunderland U21s coach Graeme Murty has claimed that Black Cats academy starlets - and brothers - Harrison and Jaydon Jones are “moving towards something that could be really good” in red and white.
The pair have both caught the eye for Sunderland’s development sides this season, and have both been justly rewarded for their impressive displays. Elder sibling Harrison made his first team bow back in August and was handed a full debut by Regis Le Bris in this month’s FA Cup third round defeat at the hands of Stoke City. Meanwhile, 18-year-old Jaydon has made the step up to U21 level with a pleasing amount of self-assurance, and looks like a worthy addition to Murty’s squad.
Both featured in a National League Cup defeat to Halifax Town on Tuesday evening, and speaking after that game, Murty was asked what message the Joneses’ recent success should send to the rest of Sunderland’s academy.
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He said: “If you keep working hard, you keep pushing, you reap the rewards. I think that's all the way through our academy. I think we need to make sure that we re-emphasise that, that there's no replacement really for hard work, but it needs to be allied to a purpose, it needs to be allied to a method, and those two are a really good example of vastly different athletes, vastly different players, still reaping the benefit of individualisation in our programme.
“And we're really keen to stress that, that you have to take time with these young people, you have to look at the longer journey, the bigger picture for them, and realise that they might not be ready yet, but they're moving towards something that could be really good. So while they're moving on their journey, can we emphasise the right lessons at the right time for them?
“And I think that those two getting into the team at the same time has been a benefit for Harrison because he has to be a leader, and we want to see different things from him. And Jaydon, one of the younger ones, so he now is coming into a group where he's not dominant, he's learning his place, and I think the blend and the mix within the group is really, really nice - and those two kind of encapsulate it.”
In a recent interview, Murty was also asked about the possibility of Harrison heading out on loan this month to gain more first team experience, to which he responded: “I think he's getting a fantastic experience where he is right now. He's doing well for us. He's in and around the first team all the time. He's on the bench. I think that he's in possibly the best club in the country that nurtures young talent at this level.
“He can definitely see that pathway moving through. I know he's in a competition and it's a really good learning part for him that he has to go and be better than his opposition every single day in training. But if he's not, they're going to tell him because they're more mature and he's going to get a real understanding.
“I need to take myself to a place where I'm better daily than those people in front of him. That's a tough ask for a young man, especially one that's only just into the group. But when you see Harrison train, when you get the feedback from the first team, he's really tenacious. He's going after it as hard as he possibly can and I think he's maximising his opportunity and he's maximising and thriving in that challenge.”