Abdoullah Ba is proof that Sunderland supporters must be patient with summer signing: View | OneFootball

Highlights

Sunderland brought in quite a few young players during the summer transfer window.

In the long term, this could pay dividends for the Black Cats because some of these players could develop into monsters in the future.

Jobe Bellingham is probably the one to watch at this stage, not just because of his name but also because he's been so heavily involved in the first team.

He has been helping to fill Amad Diallo's shoes and although he may not offer as much as the Ivorian during his first season at the Stadium of Light, he will be a Premier League player sooner rather than later if he's half as talented as his older sibling Jude is.

Bringing in these players may not only be good for the long term, but also in the short term because it has given Tony Mowbray plenty of depth in his squad.

Depth can make the difference for teams at this level, so the Wearside outfit will be pleased that they managed to replace those that have left and given themselves a sufficient number of options in most, if not all, areas.

What key problem do Sunderland face in their forward department?

The negative of their summer business is the fact they brought in quite a few players who will need plenty of time to adapt to the Championship, with Bradley Dack being an exception.

Their striker department is symbolic of that, with Luis Hemir and Mason Burstow only 20 and not playing at this level before this term, Eliezer Mayenda only 18 and 25-year-old Nazariy Rusyn needing time to adapt to England after making the switch from his home nation Ukraine.

With these players needing this time to settle in, they could be reliant on the likes of Jack Clarke and Patrick Roberts to supply the bulk of the Black Cats' goals at this point.

One player who will be disappointed not to have made more of an impact is Hemir, who signed for the club back in June and had a full pre-season to get himself up to speed.

Mayenda, who signed for the club during the latter stages of July and Rusyn, who arrived on deadline day, didn't have that luxury with the former even spending time out injured during the early stages of his time at the Stadium of Light.

The majority of Hemir's appearances have come from the bench, but the fact he hasn't scored in 12 competitive appearances will be extremely frustrating for him considering he scored in pre-season and operates as a striker.

How does Abdoullah Ba give Luis Hemir cause for hope at Sunderland?

Ba himself endured a pretty slow start to life after coming from abroad during the summer window of 2022.

He recorded just one goal and one assist in 32 competitive appearances, which would have disappointed him despite his age, because he will want to get himself on the scoresheet more often after being given a very decent amount of game time to shine.

The Frenchman has been more useful this term though, scoring against Queens Park Rangers and Watford and grabbing an assist during the Black Cats' 5-0 win against Southampton.

He made a starting spot on the right-hand side his earlier in the season and even though he has come off the bench in recent games, Ba can be happy with his growth this term.

This just reinforces why supporters need to be patient with Hemir and optimistic that he will start getting himself in and among the goals at some stage.

It may take him a while, even a full season to adapt. But he's only 20 at this stage and has the frame to be a decent replacement for Ross Stewart in the long term.

Considering his age and the fact Ba has managed to improve after coming in, you feel Hemir will only get better under a manager who has a good track record of developing youngsters.