Sunderland fans will love Bali Mumba's view on Wearside spell ahead of 'emotional' Plymouth Argyle game

Former Sunderland starlet Bali Mumba has reflected on his time with the club ahead of this weekend’s meeting between the Black Cats and his current side Plymouth Argyle in the Championship.

Mumba broke into the first team at the Stadium of Light as a teenager, making 10 senior appearances on Wearside before being sold to Norwich City in 2020. From there, he spent loan stints with Peterborough United and Argyle, eventually making his move to Home Park permanent last summer.

Over the course of his two spells on the south coast, Mumba has been converted into a full-back and has established himself as a regular fixture in the Pilgrims’ starting XI, and should he feature against Sunderland on Saturday afternoon, he will reach a century of appearances for Wayne Rooney’s side.

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But despite coming a long way since leaving the Black Cats, he still holds a special affection for his boyhood club. Speaking in a press conference on Thursday, he said: “It's always great playing them, it always brings back memories. It's another big game for me, individually, but as a team. That's the most important thing, how big the game is for us to get the win, to get our first win of the season, to do it at home. It'll be a special moment for me, especially knowing that I'm making my 100th appearance. That will top it off, really good.

“It'll be, obviously, an emotional game for me as well. There's emotions there, but it's a game that I'm really looking forward to. I'm always looking forward to these. Every time the fixtures come out, I always look out for Sunderland when we're playing them here and, obviously, at their stadium. But, like I said, the most important thing for me Saturday is about the team and the three points. If we can get that, then that makes my day really good.”

Mumba also hailed Sunderland for their unbeaten start to the new Championship campaign, but insisted that Argyle will do all they can to bring it to an end at the weekend. He added: “I've been, obviously, looking at the scores and seeing them play a few times, and, yeah, a really, really bright start from them. They'll be coming here with a lot of confidence after winning their last game. But you can't really look into it too much, because we know that teams, when they come here, they find this place really hard to come to. So, we'll give it a good go, even though they've had a really good start to the season. But I feel like we're also trying to get our first win ticked off and start our season properly.”

Nevertheless, Mumba still speaks of Sunderland with fondness, and took some time to reflect on his pathway to the first team at the Stadium of Light. He said: “I got into the academy. I got scouted when I was at school, just school tournaments, and then I got in from about under-8s, so I was there for 11, 12 years. Made my way through, and then I got into the first team - I think it was at under-16s, and I did two seasons, I think, with them. And then that's how I managed to find myself at Norwich. So, obviously, I started my career there, and I’m really grateful to have played for a club like Sunderland, a big club. I always feel the love and the connection there.”

To this day, the 22-year-old still remains the youngest player to ever wear the captain’s armband for Sunderland - an accolade that he sports with some pride. Looking back on the experience, he said: “I came on for John O'Shea. I still remember it like it was yesterday. Come on for John O'Shea, and he gave me the captain's armband, and that made me the youngest captain. I had to go to school the next day.”