Under-23 striker Max Thompson has trained with Sunderland's first team, but Tony Mowbray is reluctant to throw him in at the deep end before he's ready for senior football. He's scored five goals in five games for our youth side, and several fans believe he may be the answer to our goalscoring problems. SAFC paid an undisclosed fee for Thomson, who has already made a Premier League appearance while playing for Burnley.
RAW
"He has trained with us on a few occasions, I'm just a bit wary of the critical nature of the position and exposing a player to it. I know that he has played in the Premier League with Burnley but right now does look a little bit young and raw to me."
TIMING
"The Championship can be quite a brutal division and I wouldn't want to put him into the team at the wrong time, I'd rather put him into a team that is flourishing and scoring, and a time when I know all about the team and so I'm not gambling on putting someone in who I don't know enough about."
POSITIONING
"He's done well in the training but I'm a strong believer that the position is about movement and understanding where the space on the pitch is. I believe strikers are all about positional play, knowing where to go on the pitch and knowing the capabilities of players on the ball and what type of pass they are going to play."
MOVEMENT
"When I watch him in training, I think he needs to learn these things, he's almost a bit too honest at the moment in his movements. The great strikers find space in the box and young players need to learn that, and that's where Max is at the moment."
DIALLO/DAJAKU
"We've been looking at Amad and Leon as the striking options at the moment, with Max we'll see how we go."
NO RUSH
"I don't think in my mind there's a need at this moment, but of course that could change further down the line if we're still struggling [to score]. Let's just see how we go, I'm just really wary of almost selfishly chucking a young player in, he's got a full career ahead of him, 18/20 years potentially. He has time."
LEARNING
"I understand that he's played in the Premier League so he's got something, but at the moment I just feel he's learning and acclimatising maybe. I've seen a young lad working really hard, trying to run the channels and trying to get on the end of things, and at this moment I don't think it's the right thing for us to do just to chuck him in."
