Sunderland man's end product called 'questionable' by former Black Cats favourite

Former Sunderland man Kieron Brady has labelled Abdoullah Ba’s end product as “questionable” after he was dropped from the matchday squad against Bristol City last weekend.

Interm head coach Mike Dodds’ options in forward areas have been bolstered by the return of some key players, with Jack Clarke and Patrick Roberts both returning to the fold this week.

Aji Alese also made his comeback on Saturday afternoon during the 0-0 draw with Bristol City, which Dodds said was a factor in his call not to select Ba. Dodds preferred Romaine Mundle on this occasion but says Ba will be in his thoughts for the trip to Leeds United on Tuesday night.

Speaking on BBC Radio Newcastle’s Total Sport show, former Sunderland man and now BBC pundit Brady provided his opinion on Ba, explaining that he thought the Frenchman’s end product was questionable.

“I appreciate Mike Dodds isn’t going to say, ‘Look, the reason we’ve dropped him is because he isn’t producing’, or his end product is questionable. Now Mike Dodds might not be able to say that, but I can,” Brady told Total Sport ahead of the Leeds United game.

“And I certainly think that has been one of the concerns because, if you’re somebody that has no end product, then in some ways you can accept it [being dropped]. But if you’re someone that can do a lot of good work prior to not producing that end product, that becomes so frustrating. [Allan] Saint-Maximin was like it to an extent at Newcastle.”