Beale must now unleash Sunderland’s “magic” gem alongside Hjelde

Michael Beale could look to start this exciting attacker for Sunderland’s game against Middlesbrough, alongside Leo Hjelde.

Sunderland will aim to make it back-to-back wins when Michael Beale’s men face off against Middlesbrough today in the lunchtime game, an entertaining contest in prospect at the Riverside Stadium between two near neighbours.

The promotion-chasing Black Cats, who find themselves just outside of the playoff picture in the Championship after a wobbly patch of form saw them fall down the division, got their stuttering season back on track last time out with a convincing 3-1 win against Stoke City.

Although Sunderland did end up cruising to a much-needed win, the final moments were made just that little nervier when Jenson Seelt accidentally scored an own goal when Beale’s men were three goals in front.

This unfortunate mishap on Seelt’s end could see his starting spot sacrificed against Boro, especially with former Leeds United left-back Leo Hjelde joining the Sunderland ranks at the death on Deadline Day.

Jenson Seelt’s season in numbers
Signed initially to provide centre-back cover to the likes of Daniel Ballard and Luke O’Nien, Seelt has been thrown into the deep end owing to an injury crisis at left-back recently.

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Beale has relied upon Seelt to come in and do a job as a makeshift left-back with both Niall Huggins and Dennis Cirkin long-term absentees in the Black Cats treatment room, a less-than-ideal situation.

The 20-year-old Dutchman has performed admirably there, but his blunder against Stoke could well signal the end of his extended spell in the first-team fold as an unconventional full-back.

Jenson Seelt’s numbers vs Stoke

Minutes played

Own goals

Duels won

8/12

Possession lost

19x

Accurate passes

30/43 (70%)

Accurate long balls

3/7

Stats by Sofascore

Losing possession a grand total of 19 times in the win on top of scoring an own goal, it makes logical sense for Beale to gift Hjelde his debut in a Sunderland strip ahead of Seelt today.

Hjelde was never banging down the door at Elland Road for more first-team minutes, hence Leeds not really putting up a fight to keep their young Norwegian defender, but the 20-year-old did shine prior to moving to Elland Road.

Following a loan spell at Ross County – amid his stint at Celtic – the promising defender was even tipped to be the “next Van Dijk” by manager John Hughes, with the hope being that Beale can nurture such a talent over the coming months at the Stadium of Light.

The former Rangers boss will also pray that reintroducing Patrick Roberts to the first team today works wonders, the 26-year-old coming in to add an experienced head to a youthful Black Cats team as the push for promotion goes on.

Patrick Roberts’ season in numbers
Roberts hasn’t set the world alight when selected this season to date however, meaning this could be a controversial call for Beale to make.

The 26-year-old winger only has one assist to show for his efforts when fit from 23 appearances, with his ineffectiveness in the side only further magnified by Jack Clarke’s continued heroics down the left-hand side of the pitch.

Yet, the flashes of brilliance Roberts has shown previously in his Sunderland career mean he’s still a worthwhile option to start against Boro today.

Roberts excelled last campaign in the Championship, notching up five goals and seven assists as a crucial figure in the Black Cats side who made it into the playoffs.

Described as being “magic” by former Sunderland manager Tony Mowbray at the peak of his powers that same campaign, Beale will pray that Roberts can come good again with just one standout display then re-energising the wing wizard and boosting his confidence in the process.

Starting Roberts would see the Black Cats have to majorly rejig for the trip to the Riverside – with Abdoullah Ba arguably undroppable after starring against Stoke – but it could well be a reshuffle that works if the £12.5k-per-week winger is able to show Sunderland what they’ve been missing on the way to another win after battling back from injury.