SHOULD HE STAY OR SHOULD HE GO?

After Robin Roefs saved the third penalty on Saturday it was, as always seems to be the case when we have been in a shootout over the last seven or so years, Luke O’Nien to step up next.

In a week dominated by Enzo Le Fee’s penalty at Brentford, the Frenchman had already redeemed himself and up against England number one and boyhood Mackem Jordan Pickford, O’Nien ran up and absolutely belted it past him, no silly run up, no messing around and booked our place in the next round.

Although Roefs was very much the hero, it felt almost poetic that it was Luke to score the deciding penalty, a man who is one of few who has been through it all with us fans: from play-off heartbreak, back-to-back first-round FA Cup exits at the hands of Mansfield, to winning twice at Wembley and knocking Everton out of said cup with Granit Xhaka as a teammate. It has been a wild ride and O’Nien has been in the front seat throughout.

With just three Premier League appearances to his name this campaign, all off the bench for a total of 10 minutes and one red card, opportunities have understandably been limited with recruitment heavily focused on the backline during the summer, which so far has worked extremely well. There were some suggestions that O’Nien’s winning penalty could possibly be his last moment in red and white, with links to Championship clubs and our rumoured interest in Jhon Lucumi (which is now believed to have ended with the defender out injured for the next month. However, on Saturday LO9 made it perfectly clear in his post-match interview that he does not want to leave the club and is adamant on staying at SAFC regardless of limited opportunities to play. I actually think he’d pay the club to let him stay, if it came down to that!

It is a strange time for O’Nien as he proved on Saturday he is absolutely still a useful option for the club. But, with the quality we have brought in, you still struggle to see how he would get into the side and in theory a temporary move to a play-off-chasing Championship side would make sense. However, what O’Nien brings to the side off the pitch is very clearly important. After the derby win it emerged that he was the one to give the pre-match team talk instead of Xhaka.

There is a section of our fanbase that for some reason aren’t fond of O’Nien, but I feel although he has his moments, he was one of our best players last year and that has been the case throughout his time at Sunderland, whether it be centre-back, right-back, centre-midfield or even playing just behind the striker, he has constantly given his all and performed in a Sunderland shirt. For me, if O’Nien is happy to play a smaller role on the pitch then I think it is ideal to keep him around purely for his impact off it.

He loves it here and although at the age of 31, most would maybe want to go and play regularly, as he always has since joining, he will want to prove any doubters wrong and show he can be more than capable at this level and you have to respect that.

I saw a quote the other day and it couldn’t be more true: without Luke O’Nien, there’s no Granit Xhaka. It will be a sad day when the inevitable happens and he does move on or retire but for now, he seems to be sticking around, and I am sure a good portion of the fanbase are more than happy with that. He’ll be a great coach one day!