THE MOROCCAN MAGICIAN

Chemsdine Talbi’s equaliser away to Newcastle not only sparked a historic comeback and yet another victory over the North East second largest football club, it has firmly cemented the Moroccan as our first choice on the left. 

The Moroccan got off to a slow start after his arrival in the summer. With only one assist and no goals in his first six games, Talbi didn’t seem to offer the final product that was desired for a winger. Despite showing his pace and willingness to work hard, Talbi hesitated too much in the final third, allowing opposition defenders the chance to re-group whilst we aimed to hit them on the counter-attack. 

Having started the opening six games of the season, he was dropped for our visit to Old Trafford in October, and didn’t return to the starting eleven for another six games. He did, however, become somewhat of a super-sub within this period…

It was Talbi who came off the bench and played the ball into the path of Krejčí, who fumbled the ball into his own net to seal another home victory as we took on Wolves, the very game after the aforementioned defeat to United; seven days later, Talbi was one of the only players to burst forward as a Chelsea corner turned into a Sunderland attack. The substitute arrived right on-cue, as Brian Brobbey’s lay-off found our number seven, who coolly converted his first goal in red and white, to pick up a memorable three points away at Stamford Bridge. 

The Belgian-born winger also gave us the lead away to Liverpool, a game which we really should have won, before playing 83 minutes in our first derby-day victory of the season, which marked his final Sunderland appearance before finishing as runners up (or apparently now winning) The African Cup of Nations with his national side. 

These contributions showed that the ex-Club Brugge star did, indeed, have that cutting edge in the final third which ultimately scores goals and earns points, which is something we have really struggled with this season, especially with our wingers. 

Simon Adingra managed just one goal and one assist before leaving to join Monaco on-loan in January; his replacement, Nilson Angulo, has yet to score or assist in five appearances, and is currently injured. Romaine Mundle is set to miss the rest of the season, which he’d finish without a single goal contribution despite fourteen appearances. Bertrand Traore has scored but not assisted in his twelve appearances for the lads. 

Chris Rigg, Elizer Mayenda and Joeclin Ta Bi have also featured on the wings this season, with a combined negligible goal contribution. Enzo Le Fée has also deputised on the left throughout the campaign, but it’s debatable that we get more out of him in the middle. 

With six goal contributions, therefore, the Moroccan is our front-runner, considering all of our natural wingers. So much of his success is down to his willingness to just strike the ball, which isn’t something we thought he possessed early in the campaign. In all fairness, the twenty-year-old was playing on the right-wing. He has featured on the left a lot more since the opening few weeks, which has allowed him to cut inside onto his preferred right foot and create a lot more problems for defences. His outstanding strike against Burnley was a great example of that, and a goal which should contend for goal of the season. 

Talbi’s tendency to strike a dangerous ball from distance, especially when we haven’t been able to create many conventional chances, is something which seemingly only he possesses in our squad, and ensures that we can still threaten the opposition, even when we’re struggling to break them down. In the opening thirty minutes of Sunday’s game, we really struggled to put enough passes together to test Ramsdale. A goal felt unlikely, and that it could only come from one of Luke O’Nien’s long throws, or a strike from distance. In the 23rd minute, Talbi picked up the ball just over the half-way line, made his way forward and forced a spectacular save from Ramsdale, with the Mags keeper at full-stretch, seemingly taken-aback by the audacity of the Moroccan international to even try a shot from distance, and to strike it so clean and powerful. 

At times this season, it feels like we’ve really lacked a tricky winger who can create themselves a chance out of nothing, so as to salvage a point or all three in games when the team aren’t playing particularly well going-forward. A real enigma like Jack Clarke, who can simply beat a player (or three) and get a dangerous shot-off.

With Talbi now having scored the winner at Stamford Bridge, the opener away to Liverpool, a stupendous effort to finish off Burnley and the equaliser at St James park, which lead to us winning the game, he’s already developing the reputation for someone who can score big goals, and someone who can get us out of trouble when needed. 

He started slowly whilst adapting to life in the premier league and (probably) playing out of position, but his work ethic and pace is what kept him in the team. As the season has developed, however, it’s clear to see that the Moroccan possesses an eye for goal, and has the confidence and technique to pull-off what the others have yet to demonstrate. He’s also managed to write himself into Sunderland folklore forever, with a goal which lead to victory at St. James Park. With only seven games remaining, it looks like we’ve found our option for the left-hand side, and his name is Chemsdine Talbi.