HUUUUUME

Tomorrow marks four years since Trai Hume joined Sunderland for a reported fee of £200,000. From only making three appearances in his first season as a Sunderland player to establishing himself as a Premier League regular, the boy from Ballymena has been on some journey.

Hume’s lack of minutes during his early days as a Sunderland player came as a shock to the Sunderland fan base. Despite having to fight with Championship outfits Stoke City and Preston North End, amongst other British clubs, for his signature, Trai only played three times for us between the fourth of January and the end of the season. Lynden Gooch and Carl Winchester kept him out of the team at right-back.

It was our first season back in the Championship, however, when he established himself as a first-team regular. Again, he wasn’t in favour at the beginning of the campaign, only registering 38 minutes of football in our first 15 games. He played a bit-part role until half way through the campaign, at which point he started the final twenty-one games of the season in a row.

We surprised everyone by making the Play-Offs that season, winning 3-0 away at Preston on the last day of the season to do so. Hume played every minute of both the home and away leg to Luton Town, in a back-three which scarily consisted of himself, Luke O’Nien and Lynden Gooch. Despite playing against one of the tallest and most physical teams that the English Football League has seen in recent years, the five foot eleven-inch Hume headed in the winner in the first leg.

Since then, the Northern Ireland captain has gone on to become an integral part of our squad, playing almost every minute of the two Championship campaigns that followed across an array of different positions and under four different managers. His versatility and robustness, along with his extremely high levels of stamina and professionalism are what have solidified him as one of our most important players over the last few seasons and are what has kept him in the side as we take on the Premier League, despite many others having not been granted the same opportunity.

Trai Hume’s future and whether he possessed the quality to play significant minutes in the Premier League divided the fan base. Whilst many believed he’d be good enough and had earned an opportunity to compete for a spot in the starting eleven, there were certainly calls for a more experienced full-back to come in. He started the first twelve league games of the campaign, however, and silenced his critics with stellar performances, also ensuring he didn’t allow VAR to put an end to his ferocious tackles.

He proved that he was more than good enough in those opening fixtures, but has now found himself as the second choice right-back, when all our defenders are fully fit and available. Yet he has still found his way into the team and made himself undroppable whilst we cope without the African Cup of Nations contingent representing their countries. His ability to play a range of positions, come in and out of the team and do whatever is asked of him for a specific game is exceptional and has helped us greatly whilst our options have been depleted, whilst keeping himself in the team.

He added energy to a side that had battled from two behind to help us pick up all three points at home to Bournemouth, coming off the bench, before lining up on the right side of midfield away to Liverpool and being part of a side that picked up a point away at the Premier League champions.

Four days later he was then shifted to left wing back away at Man City, before then being reverted to the bench for the derby. His aggression and tenacity were exactly what we needed as we saw out the game against Newcastle, as well as the outlet that he offered us to relieve the pressure. He also managed to pull off one of his classic sliding tackles on Lewis Hall in the dying moments, which was probably a perfect representation of how each side approached that match.

He most recently lined up on the right side of midfield against Man City, as we kept a clean sheet and took a point off one of the best teams in world football. Le Bris described it as a ‘hybrid role’ with Hume dropping in as a wing back to support Geertruida then getting forward to support Elizer Mayenda. The Spaniard and the Northern Irishman seemed to beat England international Nico O’Reilly every time they went up against him, providing dangerous threat and coming close to scoring. Hume also seemed to be popping up in central midfield at times, especially during the second half, making some crucial interceptions and defensive blocks. Some would argue he was man of the match, which was officially awarded to Nordi Mukiele.

His honest and hard-working playing style, matched with the resilience and discipline required to play the role of a versatility man so well, also makes him the perfect example of a player who represents Sunderland. From the proud working-class history of the area represented in his work ethic and stamina, to our track record of idolising true grafters who love to get stuck in and would run through a brick wall for the badge.

Having been bought for £200,000 whilst we were still in League One, we have to look back at this acquisition as one of the best of the KLD era, and the perfect example of what our model tries to achieve in developing young and hungry players. He has progressed from a League One bench warmer to one of the most valuable and important assets in a side who are currently 7th in the Premier League (at the time of writing). As the Northern Ireland national team captain, he also has the potential to lead his side to their first World Cup since 1986 in the summer. His exemplary attitude to do whatever is needed of him for the team makes him a great example to young players coming through and someone whose absence we’d definitely notice. Having already written his name in Sunderland history, the boy from Ballymena has the potential to become an all-time Sunderland great.