I watched four senior players in action last night - but this Sunderland youngster was my man of the match

On the very off chance that there is a scout or recruitment staff member for an EFL club reading this, then it's your lucky day.

I've got a tip for you - Harrison Jones could be one of the loan signings of the January transfer window.

Sunderland gave valuable minutes to four senior players in the 2-2 draw with RSCA Futures at the Stadium of Light on Wednesday night, and at times all of them showed their undoubted quality. Anthony Patterson made a penalty save, Luke O'Nien stepped out nicely from the back. Brian Brobbey scored a good goal and for the first half an hour in particular, Eliezer Mayenda looked a cut above as he dropped into midfield to gather possession, turning away from his marker to drive at goal and build an attack.

Over the course of the game, though, Jones was undoubtedly Sunderland's best player on show. It was his clever and quick pass that released Brobbey to score Sunderland's first equaliser, capitalising on some slack Anderlecht play as they tried to play out from their own goal kick. Jones has now for over a year been training with the senior team at the Academy of Light, impressing Régis Le Bris with his application and his growing ability. Though opportunities at first-team level have been few and far between, and pre-season saw the youngster deployed mostly at left back out of necessity, it doesn't take long to watch Jones at U21 level to see how his time working with the senior group has turbocharged his development.

Jones presses well and puts in a significant shift out of possession, as he has always done since breaking through Sunderland's academy. Most notable though is how much more time he seems to have on the ball now, and how much he has improved at playing it into dangerous areas. Clearly used to the speed of senior training, he moves it quicker than most when he plays at this level. His game awareness has also come on leaps and bounds, and there were a number of occasions where he used his body well to turn away from an Anderlecht player and open up space. This is a good standard of opposition, remember, who compete weekly in the second tier of Belgian's senior pyramid. The visitors had some serious talent on show but Jones was a match for them, and dominated the midfield battle. Mayenda's withdrawal after the hour mark allowed Jones to then get into more advanced areas as Sunderland again equaliser, and perhaps Jones's only disappointment will be that from some good positions he and his team mates weren't quite able to force the win.

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For the time being, it's hard to see an obvious route into the Sunderland team for Jones because of the sheer quality and experience now in the ranks. Had Sunderland not won promotion, there's absolutely every chance he would have forced his way into the reckoning this season given how quickly he has come on as a player. Training with the senior group on a daily basis is clearly aiding his development, but he will know that at some stage he needs to be sampling senior football on a weekly basis. A few performances like this, and EFL clubs in need of a midfielder for the second half of the campaign will surely be knocking on Sunderland's door.

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