Sunderland “warrior” looks like a new Dan Ballard in the making

Sunderland showed a real squad togetherness away at Brighton and Hove Albion to collect a hard-fought point.

It wasn’t the prettiest display by any stretch of the imagination, as the Black Cats had to make do with a 0-0 stalemate on the South Coast.

But, with six figures in Regis Le Bris‘ camp now out at the African Cup of Nations, it was still a positive sign that the Wearside battlers will continue to work hard for each other, even if their ranks are a little decimated.

In particular, Daniel Ballard stood out once more as a hard-to-break-down defensive presence, as the former Arsenal centre-back continues to impress this season for the Premier League newcomers.

Ballard’s standout Premier League performances

In a summer of much change at the Stadium of Light in terms of incomings, Ballard has managed to stay put in Le Bris’ first team plans, having first joined the ranks during the 2022/23 season in the Championship.

Now, he looks every bit a Premier League-calibre defender, with a player of the match accolade even arriving his way at the close of the dull draw at the Amex, with Sky Sports’ Dougie Critchley hailing him as Sunderland’s “star player” on the day.

The numbers back up all this wild praise, too, as the Northern Ireland international trudged off at the end of the even contest with a mammoth 16 duels and tackles won, alongside only misplacing five of his 46 passes as a calming influence in the heart of the rock-solid Black Cats defence.

He even had two on-target attempts at Bart Verbruggen’s well-protected goal, with Ballard standing out all season long as “one of the big characters on the pitch” as per ex-Manchester United defender Phil Jones, when scoring two goals – one of which came against his ex-employers in Arsenal – and also winning a resolute 6.3 duels per league clash.

He has made the jump up from the Championship to the Premier League look a breeze; therefore, with Le Bris hopeful that he has another Ballard on his hands in this equally combative figure, who could become an even more crucial part of the Frenchman’s team, with the ongoing AFCON.

Sunderland’s new Ballard

Having forked out £162m on new recruits this summer, there will be some delight on Sunderland’s end, too, that a large portion of their promotion heroes have taken to the step-up with ease, over these flashy signings stealing all of the limelight.

With Reinildo out in Morocco with Mozambique for the next couple of weeks, Trai Hume has a real opportunity to show Le Bris that he is also a Ballard-type figure; being an energetic and reliable defender cut out for the bright lights of the Premier League.

He has been Sunderland’s main starter in the right back spot this season, having been a dependable face to rely on during the Black Cats’ playoff journey, but his importance to the cause will go up even more now, to rival Ballard’s status as one of the first names on the team sheet, as he put in an admirable shift in the left-back spot against the Seagulls, in Reinildo’s absence.

Indeed, the versatile 23-year-old very much lived up to his tag of being a “warrior” that was handed to him by his manager in the second tier, having won 15 tackles and duels to preserve Robin Roefs’ clean sheet.

Moreover, he also had flashes of attacking impetus, much like Ballard, with one shot and one key pass registered, with the ex-Lorient manager surely feeling less uneasy now about the ex-Atletico Madrid defender not being present, knowing he has a fan favourite in Hume who can step up when required.

Only costing a remarkable £200k to obtain from Linfield in early 2022, it’s clear that the £45k-per-week full-back is a bargain that was purchased while Sunderland decayed in the Championship, which has now paid off, with Ballard also only costing a modest £2m, too, to win from the Gunners.

Le Bris will want improvements in the attacking department, with Nick Woltemade’s own goal the only strike Sunderland have been able to cheer across the last two games.

But, he won’t be displeased by the Black Cats’ defensive acumen, as Ballard and Hume aim to start more games together across the busy winter period to come, to steer their well-drilled team to plenty more well-fought points.

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