Sunderland’s most-used XI as Regis Le Bris hails defensive stalwart Trai Hume | OneFootball

Regis Le Bris has built Sunderland’s rise on a settled core, with promotion winner Trai Hume the most relied-upon player this season.

According to Sunderland Echo, the Black Cats return after the international break with a home game against struggling Tottenham Hotspur, buoyed by their Tyne-Wear derby win at Newcastle United.

Le Bris’ side are in the hunt for European football for only the second time in the club’s history and the first since Bob Stokoe’s 1973 FA Cup winners entered the Cup Winners Cup.

Momentum from last season’s Championship play-off final victory against Sheffield United, plus an emphatically successful summer window, has underpinned the surge, with Robin Roefs, Omar Alderete, Granit Xhaka and Brian Brobbey prominent.

Minutes-played XI, figures denote minutes: GK Robin Roefs 2,520, DF Nordi Mukiele 2,165, Omar Alderete 2,356, Dan Ballard 2,008, Trai Hume 2,585, MF Granit Xhaka 2,273, Noah Sadiki 2,297, Habib Diarra 1,103, FW Enzo Le Fee 2,306, Brian Brobbey 1,370, Chemsdine Talbi 1,330.

Le Bris has praised Hume’s versatility, noting he can play on either flank, further forward or in midfield, and fit a back three. That flexibility, especially away to stronger sides, helps Sunderland drop into a 5-4-1 without the ball and vary his positions in possession.

Source: Sunderland Echo