Ovie refused to crumble in toxic Stadium of Light .. he can handle heat at Ibrox
Former Black Cats No.2 Symons rates Ovie as even under pressure he wanted the ball
OVIE EJARIA refused to crumble under the pressure of playing at a toxic Stadium of Light in a disastrous season for Sunderland.
And former Black Cats assistant Kit Symons reckons the experience will ensure he is now ready for the rough and tumble of the Premiership.
Rising Liverpool star Ejaria is a Rangers loan target with Anfield Steven Gerrard aware of the player’s talent following his time as Reds youth boss.
The 20-year-old played just 11 games in a four-month loan spell on Wearside last season but Chris Coleman’s No.2 Symons witnessed enough in that time to believe the England Under-21 international can be an Ibrox hit.
Symons said: “Ovie is a real bright talent who did exceptionally well for Liverpool’s Under-23s.
“He came into us and sort of did okay. It’s a big step from Under-23s football to the Championship and he found the adjustment difficult, as all young players would do.
“But he certainly got better with more of an understanding as his loan period went on.
“If he was going straight from Liverpool Under-23s to Rangers then it would be a bit of a shock. But Sunderland is a big club as well and there’s a lot of pressure – especially at the Stadium of Light which was toxic at times.
“He had to be able to handle that and even in tough situations in games that weren’t going our way he was the one player who wanted the ball.
“In some respects he shows great maturity in his game and in others he’s very much a young boy learning. But it would be a great move for him and he’d do well in the Scottish Premiership.
“In Scottish football terms 20 might not seem that young but it is in England where fewer young players are getting a chance.
“Managers are under great pressure to get the results and don’t trust as many young players. It would be good for Ovie to play under a manager who knows him and obviously values him because he wants to get him in.
“That would be brilliant for him and he’ll do well. I’d be more concerned if he didn’t have the experience of his time at Sunderland. After games when we had a glass of wine in the office opposition managers would always ask about Ovie and said after looking at him they regretted not trying to get him.
“He was one of the few players in the Sunderland line-up they were asking about. He will try the unexpected, off-the-cuff things and little slide-rule passes.
“He’s certainly a lot better for those 11 games with Sunderland and Rangers will reap the benefits.
“When he’s on the game he’s got an awful lot of talent and ability and will excite the Ibrox crowd.”
Symons watched Ejaria play for the England Under-21 side in a defensive midfield role but reckons he’s more effective when given the freedom to get forward.
The former Fulham boss said: “He looks like a Patrick Vieiratype but he was more defensive. I watched him for England Under-21s against Romania and he played as a holding midfielder but he’s better as an attacking midfielder.
“Ovie can do the defensive side but he’s more offensive. His game is all about bombing forward and getting in the box and playing little one-twos around the edge of the box.
“We saw him as a No.8 – and if Steven Gerrard can’t pick a midfielder then there’s no chance for any of us really! Steven will have seen him for Liverpool and know his qualities.
“I’m not going to say he was outstanding at Sunderland because he wasn’t. He was still in sort of Under-23 mode and was learning but he showed an appetite to learn.
“You could see his quality in training but he was raw. I remember we were 1-0 up against Norwich and Ovie went clean through. The keeper was in no-man’s land and it was on for him just to slot it past the goalie.
“But you could almost see him thinking in his head, ‘I want to go round the keeper and roll it into the empty net’. He tried to do that and the keeper managed to smother it. “That’s the kind of decisionmaking where we felt he wasn’t quite where he needs to be. He’s a young boy learning, which is what the loan process does for you. “He gets on with his business, always trains well and was a good lad to have about. The Championship is a competitive, tough league as is the Scottish Premiership.”
He’s got an awful lot of ability and will excite the crowd KIT SYMONS