Sunderland signing Juan Riquelme Angulo makes Ecuador debut before first-team bow | OneFootball

Sunderland striker Juan Riquelme Angulo won his first Ecuador cap on Thursday, despite not yet appearing for the Black Cats’ first team.

According to Sunderland Echo, the 18-year-old joined from Independiente del Valle late in the window. He then played just over an hour for the U21s in a 3-1 win against Norwich City last Friday.

He came on in the 66th minute as Ecuador lost 3-0 to South Korea in Suwon, wearing the number 13 shirt long associated with Enner Valencia, who retired from international football after this year’s World Cup.

Teammate Nilson Angulo played 74 minutes before he was substituted.

Head coach Regis Le Bris said they will probably take a cautious approach with Juan, though schedules can change. He described the forward as young, tall, quick and intense, still immature and needing experiences and time, yet already experienced for his age, and said he is looking forward to seeing more.

Sporting director Florent Ghisolfi said Angulo has exciting potential and a profile the club believe can develop well. He highlighted interest from big European clubs and praised the striker’s physicality, movement, technique and goalscoring instinct.

Source: Sunderland Echo

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”