Sunderland's lost generation make strong starts elsewhere as a new strategy faces an early test

Their talent was never in question, and it has not taken long for it to be underlined.
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It remains early days for the generation of talent to leave Sunderland's academy in the last two years, but their first steps elsewhere have been strong.

Luca Stephenson recently signed his first professional contract at Liverpool.

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After two good seasons at Arsenal, Sam Greenwood has started well following his seven-figure move to Leeds United. An aggressive competitor on the doorstep since being promoted to Category One status, Sunderland saw the threat first hand recently. Greenwood scored a hat-trick in a 3-1 win at the Academy of Light, forming a powerful partnership with the highly-rated Joe Gelhardt, himself another example of Leeds' willingness to commit significant sums to youth talent.

At Manchester United, Logan Pye and Joe Hugill have impressively established themselves in the U23 unit.

Both have featured in the Papa John's Trophy, and both have won their first international calls.

Perhaps most agonisingly of all, Bali Mumba has quicly been making up for lost time at Norwich City.

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His admittedly nascent career looked to be drifting last season, but a starring role in victory over Swansea City at the weekend reflected reflected a fast start.

Joe Hugill has made a fine start to life as a Manchester United playerJoe Hugill has made a fine start to life as a Manchester United player
Joe Hugill has made a fine start to life as a Manchester United player

Perhaps the change of scenery has proved productive, but it is fair to wonder what has gone wrong when he has travelled in a matter of months from the seventh tier to a Championship promotion push.

Undoubtedly, Sunderland have suffered in part from a paltry compensation scheme in place for young academy talent, placing all the power in the hands of a handful of top Premier League clubs.

Yet the most damning aspect of the sales is that many close to those that left suggested to The Echo that they had not felt an overwhelming desire to keep the club. Perhaps even more alarmingly, they stressed that the pathway to the first team was unclear despite the club's third-tier status.

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Too many felt their progress would be negatively affected by playing most of their football in a struggling U23 side.

Mumba's season so far is a great example of that.

He has not played regularly for Daniel Farke's side, but his role in the senior squad has been settled in a way it may not have been on Wearside.

It feels an apt moment to reflect on this, when the efforts to undo some of this considerable damage will be put to one of its first tests on Tuesday night.

A handful of the players from the club's reshuffled U23 side will be given a major opportunity to impress at Fleetwood Town on Tuesday night.

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In Premier League 2 Division 2, they have made a solid start.

After a season in which they did not win a league fixture, they already have four to their name.

They sit fourth in the table, having impressively beaten Wolves despite many of their senior players not featuring ahead of this final Papa John's Trophy group game.

Mumba's sale, and the acrimony that followed, proved to be something of a tipping point.

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There were significant changes behind the scenes, including the departure of the club's academy manager and head of football operations.

The latter, Richard Hill, had been a key figure in terms of negotiating many of the departures.

The club's new structure, including CEO Jim Rodwell, and non-executive director David Jones, pushed hard for a change of policy.

Dan Neil was quickly signed up to a professional deal after a strong pre-season.

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With the new salary cap rules introduced, it was noted that a competitive U23 unit could make all the difference in a punishing schedule for the senior team.

Investment followed, no doubt helped by the stinging criticism rightly levelled at the Madrox regime for their previous mistakes.

The results have been encouraging, and there has been a central role for some of those summer recruits.

Oliver Younger has jumped ahead of Brandon Taylor in the pecking order, impressing Phil Parkinson in U23 games and senior training.

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Josh Hawkes has thrived in attacking midfield, and is in line to make his senior debut against Joey Barton's side.

This core has benefited from the occasional availability of Neil, Jack Diamond and Elliot Embleton.

Most notably, they are mirroring Parkinson's 3-4-3 system and it is here where fans are looking to what comes next with interest.

Parkinson has vowed to hand opportunities to these players, most notable when pointing to their rise as one of the reasons why Aiden McGeady's first-team exclusion continues.

So far, their gametime has been relatively limited.

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When pressed on the issue in recent weeks, Parkinson has pointed to this group of cup fixtures as the moment in which they will be given a chance to press their claims.

There has been some scepticism surrounding this, given that Neil's excellent pre-season displays yielded little senior action (in fairness, his Papa John's Trophy appearances have been solid, rather than sparkling, and time remains firmly on his side).

Despite those encouraging U23 results, there remains concern about the academy's place in the club's future.

Paul Reid is still yet to be replaced, with Rodwell saying he will be patient after his main target for the role opted against taking the job.

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And while there has been some uplift in terms of U23 presence in the senior squad, there has not yet been sufficient evidence to say with certainty that a stronger pathway has been established.

The academy, and the players in it, remains another element of the club waiting nervously to see what comes of a prospective takeover, and what that could mean.

It is clear that the damaging two years of player sales will cost Sunderland dear in the years to come.

Less clear is to what extent that can be rectified.

Tuesday night marks an interesting staging post.

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