Who's impressed most for Sunderland during 2024/2025?
Yesterday at 01:00 AM
We asked our writers to pick their top three Lads players of the season so far. Who would you go for?
Anthony Gair says…
Dennis Cirkin
We knew he was good and we knew he was capable, but he's shown glimpses of quality we could only have dreamt of so far this season, with his tenacity in the tackle, dazzling confidence, flamboyant control of the football and his mad runs forward.
This, alongside his amazing run of games without injury, makes him an incredible asset to the club.
Wilson Isidor
A controversial one, but his attitude to life and his love for the red and white stripes made me fall in love with him almost immediately.
The badge kissing is usually the death knell for a player, but he's taken to the team like a duck to water. His attitude is similar to that of Luke O'Nien and it has to rub off on the young lads here.
He also looks like he's going to be a major member of the team going forward!
Romaine Mundle
I don't believe I'm alone in thinking that when we sold Jack Clarke, we were a weakened proposition and promotion was looking absolutely impossible without the kind of quality attacker that Clarke is.
However, up stepped Romaine, a lad we signed from Standard Liege, someone who obviously had raw talent but was struggling for real quality at the end of last season.
No way was this lad going to be good enough to fill Clarke's gaping void- was he?! He bloody well has, and more.
He has all of the attacking nous of Clarke, but with tenacious backtracking and defending. I think he's absolutely class and he can only get better!
Tom Albrighton says…
Dennis Cirkin
Is it a coincidence that our form drops off when he's injured? I think not.
Every bit a Premier League player in waiting, Cirkin's all-round ability is nothing short of immense at this level. In his years at Sunderland, his game has developed beautifully and he's now balanced attack and defence, accompanied by an increased range of passing.
His engine is also absolutely ridiculous when you watch how much ground he covers during each game. If it wasn't for hamstrings made of baccy papers, I have no doubt Cirkin would be playing at a higher level by now.
Also, he's fucking lush.
Chris Rigg
What can I say that hasn't already been said?
To be so confident, so assured and so comfortable at the age of seventeen is ridiculous by any metric. The main thing for Rigg now is to keep his feet planted and keep working hard to improve.
So far, I've seen nothing to persuade me that he won't be playing at the very, very top before long.
Romaine Mundle
Forgive me for doubting you, brother, for you are him.
I foolishly doubted whether Mundle could fill the Jack Clarke-shaped hole on our left hand side, but dare I say he's filled it and then some. We all loved Clarke but I can't help but feel that Mundle is improving at a rate we've not seen for a long time.
So far this season, he's become a nightmare for full backs, twisting them inside out and back again. He's also ferociously quick and tenacious to boot.
If he keeps on this track and adds a few more goals, we may have well upgraded on one of the best left wingers in the league for the cumulative total of about ten Freddos.
'Let Speakman cook', as they say.
Phil West says…
Dennis Cirkin
Quite simply the league's best left back, Cirkin looks to be emerging from the stop-start, injury-interrupted spells that marked his early Sunderland tenure to establish himself as a key player in Régis Le Bris' team. Indeed, legions of Wearside fans may be inclined to say a daily prayer for his fitness, because without him, we'd be facing a hell of a dilemma at left back.
A powerful and dynamic runner with the ball at his feet, Cirkin loves to bomb forward and carry the ball purposefully into the opposition half, but he doesn't neglect his defensive duties and is generally as solid as a rock when opponents try to engage him.
He also loves a header from a set piece and is basically everything you need in an elite Championship-standard full back. A lack of genuine backup for him is a nagging worry, but when he's fit and operating at full throttle, there's nobody better and his start to the season has been superb.
A class act.
Jobe
'Cash in!' cried the naysayers during the summer. 'He'd be nobody if his surname wasn't Bellingham' declared the doubters, as Jobe came off the back of a maiden campaign in red and white that was, by any reasonable standard, a success, even if his form, like so many others, often fluctuated as the campaign unfolded.
However, that was then and this is now, and to say the least, Jobe has forced the doubters to eat their words, kicking off the season in scintillating fashion with a string of influential displays in the Sunderland engine room.
Rangier, more powerful and seemingly more motivated than ever, Jobe is striding through games with ease, and whenever he receives the ball under pressure from an opponent, you know that more often than not, he'll get out of trouble by turning and driving forward or finding a teammate with a pass.
He scored a stunner against Derby last week, and looks to be going from strength to strength. Another player enjoying a new lease of life under the watchful eye of Le Bris, and someone whose trajectory is very much upwards.
Chris Rigg
The swagger. The confidence. The close control. The maturity. The backheel against Middlesbrough..…I could go on.
There's never been a player who's exerted such influence at such a young age at our club. I would defend and debate that opinion with anyone, and the fact that Rigg is making such incredible performances look routine is perhaps the most remarkable thing.
The Championship is supposed to sort the men from the boys; to see who's got what it takes and who hasn't, but Rigg has passed every test so far, and that's testament to his own mindset and the elite environment in which he's operating.
A special talent and someone who's destined for great things- some of which will hopefully be in a red and white striped Hummel jersey in the years to come.
