Sunderland's 'very clever' youth star challenged to kick-on after Régis Le Bris decision
The Sunderland youngster continues to impress under the watchful eyes of Régis Le Bris and Graeme Murty
Sunderland youngster Ben Middlemas has been challenged to “kick-on” after a string of impressive performances for the under-21s.
The 20-year-old midfielder has taken over the captaincy from Harrison Jones and produced a 10/10 performance as the young Black Cats smashed Huddersfield Town 7-0 in the Premier League Cup earlier this week at Eppleton CW.
Middlemas has been rewarded for his fine form with a spot on Régis Le Bris’ bench for the game against Watford in the Championship at the Stadium of Light earlier this month. The former South Shields loanee was also called up for first-team duties earlier this season against Millwall, with the first team struggling for numbers.
The player joined the non-league side South Shields at the end of August and played several games for the Mariners, scoring on his debut for the club and bagging a Man of the Match award against Scunthorpe before returning to Sunderland to continue his development.
“We're still going to be after him to do more because we know how good he is,” Murty said after Sunderland thrashed Huddersfield Town in the Premier League Cup. “We really like what he can do with the ball. We like his level of understanding.
“He's a very, very clever player. So we want to see a level of consistency and attainment from him that means that this level isn't going to be challenging enough for him. So we want to see him really start to kick on, not for us, but for him to really recognise it's a reward for his hard work because on a daily basis, he really, really has put a shift in and I think that he kind of showed tonight.”
Is Ben Middlemas knocking on the door of the first-team?
Asked by The Echo whether Middlemas was knocking on the door for first team opportunities, Murty said: “I'm really careful about saying things like he's knocking on the door. That's not for us to say. That's not for us to use those words with our first team.
“The first team are a singular entity. They're going to go and try and push on the league as much as they can. All our young players can do is really go and stand out in their context and if you go and do that, you have to trust that you're being seen. So Aaron Chung played well at the weekend for the under-18s. We're going to see him today.
“If you're an under-16 playing well, you're going to get a chance in the under118s. You need to know that you're being seen by the people who not just administer your age group, but from an age group up, 18s and 21s and first team, you're being seen.
“The players need to see that.And I think from all of the players within our pathway, be it Trey or Harrison or Tommy Watson, they understand that ours are going to be on them. We demand a certain level of performance. And when you do perform, that's going to get recognised.”
Ben Middlemas hoping to emulate Chris Rigg at Sunderland
Speaking last September, Middlemas admitted his main aim during his time at the 1st Cloud Arena was to impress first team staff at the Stadium of Light and he cited one recent Academy of Light graduate as a key example of how Le Bris is willing to hand youth a chance if he feels they have earned the opportunity.
He told The Echo: “The first-team at Sunderland are obviously doing very well at the moment, they’re top of the league and they are flying to be honest. It will be tough to impress the manager but that is my main aim coming here, to try and show him what I can do in senior football.
“That’s what any young player coming out on loan has to do. It’s a challenge where the manager might watch the games here or talk to staff that have done so, and you can get a chance from that. There’s a few lads that have been given chances in the first team.
“Obviously, there’s Chris Rigg, he’s been unbelievable so far and it shows the manager has not been scared to put young lads in. I’ve just got to be brave, get on the ball, try to impress and show him what I can do,” Middlemas concluded.