THE AFCON EFFECT

After a beautiful derby day win for Regis Le Bris’ Mackems, focus will soon turn to next week’s trip to the south coast against Brighton. Not only will SAFC be without goalscorer Nick Woltemade, but they lose four of the starting XI from our seventh win against the Geordies since 2013 due to the African Cup of Nations. The question is who will benefit from these absentees?

REINILDO- DENNIS CIRKIN

Although it would not be a shock if Trai Hume were to start there against Brighton, Cirkin has timed his return from injury to perfection, with him now our main senior left-back. He did not feature on the bench yesterday but you would imagine even if he is not quite ready to start this weekend, he will get his opportunity over the busy Christmas period.

The interesting one for Cirkin though is that his contract is up in the summer and no news has yet come out on whether any progress has been made on that front. It would certainly be interesting should he get a chance to play, would reassurances over playing time be a factor on the full-back committing long term?

NOAH SADIKI- DAN NEIL/CHRIS RIGG

Sadiki has been a crucial member of the side this season and, without sounding harsh, there is no like for like swap in this situation. Dan Neil fits the Xhaka mould of sitting deep and dictating the play while Chris Rigg definitely has the legs, he does not quite offer the same qualities as Sadiki in the defensive areas.

What wouldn’t be a shock would be a chance of shape to a five back with Enzo Le Fee alongside Xhaka but I would like to hope with Sadiki away Le Bris sees it as an opportunity to give Neil or Rigg a chance. It feels likely Neil will move on in January as like Cirkin he is yet to sign a new deal and has featured just twice so far, both as a late substitute. With rumoured interest from abroad and the Championship the club may be tempted to cash in. It could be seen as a good opportunity for Rigg, who at the age of 18 needs to continue his development by playing games, whether that be here or out on loan. He has three starts already this season and Le Bris may be tempted to give him a run in the side over the next month.

BERTRAND TRAORE- SIMON ADINGRA/ELIEZER MAYENDA

Traore impressed me against the Mags and looked the most likely to create something going forward, however with him off to Morocco we will need to turn to alternatives.

Simon Adingra missing out on the Ivory Coast squad may have been disappointing for the player, but provides a huge boost for Le Bris who would have otherwise been massively lacking in this area going into a busy schedule. Adingra has not got going on Wearside yet and I see it as a real opportunity for the former Brighton man. It can go one of two ways, we get a player motivated to prove his national team manager wrong and hit some form to try get into there World Cup squad in the summer, or we get a deflated player lacking any sort of confidence. Hopefully it will be the former and this is where Adingra’s Sunderland career really gets going.

Another option would be the almost forgotten man in Eliezer Mayenda. The Spaniard started the season with a goal and led the line for the first few games until Wilson Isidor displaced him in the side. Appearances have been limited for the ‘Big Man’ but with him already making a few appearances both last season and in this one out wide, we could end up seeing a bit more of Mayenda. He is another player that may be off in January though with game time so limited, however a loan move would feel more likely.

CHEMSDINE TALBI- ROMAINE MUNDLE

The left-wing position has been occupied by a few people this season with Enzo Le Fee often playing as a make shift wide player but with us now without Sadiki, I would be surprised if Le Bris opted to use the Frenchman anywhere but in the middle of the park.

Of course, Adingra can operate on the left as well but I feel it will likely be a great opportunity for Romaine Mundle to prove his worth in the Premier League. I feel we are crying out for something a bit more direct out wide and think Mundle cutting inside offers something different to what we have seen for most of the season. With nobody really cementing the left-wing position as there’s, Mundle has been given a great chance to nail down a place in the side.

CONCLUSION

How we do in the next month is anybody’s guess, with the majority of our back four untouched by AFCON you would like to hope it won’t be anything to catastrophic but it provides an opportunity for some of the lads that got us to the top flight to prove there worth and I think I speak for the whole fanbase when I say I hope they can do just that and become key players for us for the rest of the season.