Exclusive:'Absolutely' - Kevin Phillips backs rarely seen Sunderland star to keep place in starting XI
Kevin Phillips has offered his view on Sunderland winger Chemsdine Talbi.
Kevin Phillips has argued that Chemsdine Talbi deserves to keep his place in Sunderland’s starting XI following his outing in Sunday’s 1-0 Premier League win over Chelsea.
The Moroccan international has spent much of the early part of this season on the periphery of Regis Le Bris’ plans, but was handed a rare opportunity in the top flight over the weekend, starting ahead of both Nilson Angulo and summer signing Malick Fofana. And in Phillips’ opinion, based on Talbi’s showing, the 21-year-old should remain in the team for Sunderland’s next outing - a league meeting with Aston Villa after the current international break.
Speaking exclusively to The Echo, courtesy of BestBettingSites, when asked whether Talbi deserved to retain his spot, the pundit said: “I would say yes. He's been very patient, as I've always said. I don't know what happened, what went on in the background, but he's been patient.
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“He's got on with his job. And as I just said, when you get your opportunity, you have to take it, and I thought he did. He gives you a little bit of a different dimension.
“I thought Angulo's best game was against Leeds this season, but then he just dipped off a little bit. And Fofana hasn't really got going, has he, since his big money move, for whatever reason. But I think Talbi knows the league. He performed very, very well last season and he has done so since he's come back into the team. So he absolutely deserves to stay in the team.”