Sunderland boss Michael Beale has an unlikely plan for full-back Trai Hume.
Hume has become somewhat of an unlikely hero on a Sunderland team full of talent—talent that, in Jack Clarke‘s instance, is worth at over £20 million.
In January 2022, the current Northern Ireland international signed for a rumoured sum of under £200,000 from Linfield FC.
Since then, the 21-year-old has made 64 appearances for the Black Cats in league play. He has also participated in all 31 of his team’s Championship games this year.
Hume is rarely mentioned, at least not as frequently as names like Clarke, Dan Neil, and so on, like a generally reliable full-back.
However, Hume is consistently among the first names on the roster, and Beale is now expecting even greater performance from the young man.
Michael Beale wants Trai Hume getting more assists
Hume has only recorded one assist thus far this season.
Prior to tonight’s Championship match against Huddersfield Town, Beale disclosed his intention to encourage Hume to score more goals by assigning Clarke and other wide players the responsibility of attacking the back post when crosses in from the opposite side.
Regarding Hume, Beale is cited as saying:
“He deserves more and that’s something we’re working on with Jack [Clarke] and Paddy [Patrick Roberts] and Abdoullah Ba; when our full-backs are crossing the ball can they maybe attack the far post? A lot of their goals come from dribbling but I think Trai should have maybe five or six more assists with our wide players arriving in the box. So you’re nudging these little things in.”
Hume going from strength to strength at Sunderland
Here at Sunderland, Hume has grown to be a huge fan favourite.
He is not just a reliable performer who has demonstrated his versatility this season, but he is also a solid consistent performance.
In addition to being a full-back with the ability to rush forward and create opportunities, Hume has established himself as a very comfortable and competent center-back.
Hume is the whole package, and at age 21, he still has a lot of untapped potential. He’s also the ideal age for Beale to start incorporating new elements into his performance.
With a little more experience and forward-thinking from the wingers when Hume is placing the ball into the box, Hume, who has demonstrated good crossing skills, may develop into a vital creative outlet for this Sunderland team.
And that might happen right before the following season, by which point players like Clarke might be gone, so Beale will need to come up with fresh ideas for getting Sunderland on the scoreboard and setting up opportunities.
Tonight’s game vs Huddersfield Town kicks off at 7:45pm.
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