SPOTLIGHT ON THE ACADEMY
Sunderland’s Academy has been a cause for concern for supporters for some time, The Echo spoke to staff, players and figures in the game to delve deeper over a series of articles this week.
In this edition, we take a closer look at the controversial decision to sell Bali Mumba to Norwich City, which was confirmed yesterday afternoon.
The furore that met the news of his departure reflected the bubbling frustration with two years of departures.
Long considered one of, if not the most, talented player to come through the Academy in recent times, his departure for a modest fee reflected what many reflected to be two years of failure of the Ma dr ox regime.
Sunderland have not seen the most of his talent, nor they have been able to maximise on it in the revenue they are to generate. It’s a transfer that magnifies many of the questions surrounding both the Academy and the club more generally. Specifically, the concerns over the pathway to the first team and the inability to convince young players there is a prosperous future for them on Wearside.
Despite a frustrating year in which Mumba’ s progression seemed to stall, the youngster remained one of the club’s bigger assets. As talks were held with Norwich City during the lockdown, sources indicated a fear that the club could cash in on his value as Sunderland battledthe significant implication of the COVID-19 crisis.
Both Phil Parkinson and Jim Rodwell have distanced themselves from the sale, with Rodwell stating that he hadn’t really been involved in the talks. But it is understood these talks were led by Richard Hill, who recently departed the club.
This has been standard practice for much of the Ma dr ox tenure. A former East leigh manager under Donald on two occasions, Sunderland’s former head of football operations had regularly led talks on financial matters, whether it be regarding player sales, acquisitions, or contract renewals.
Talks between the two clubs on this particular sale have been going on for some time, but a chief executive not being involved in the deal regarding a key club asset is unusual. Park in son also stated that the decision had not been his. Both have indicated that the key factor in Mumba’s departure was the youngster having just one year left on his contract, and that there was not a willingness to extend it.
The fee Sunderland are set to receive was reported by Sky Sports to be around the £350,000 mark, with the clubs negotiating a number of additional clauses.
The eventual deal will exceed what Sunderland would have been owed in compensation had Mumba left on a free next year, with a sell-on clause particularly key in such matters, protecting the Black Cats against Mumba realising his potential in future years.
Sentiment al ties to Sunderland aside, Mumba is at a point where it is hard to make a case for him committing his long-term future. As it stands, Mumba’s pathway to the first-team seems non-existent.
The youngster has not featured once during Parkinson’s tenure and while the Black Cats boss intends to take a close look at Jack Diamond in the preseason period, Mumba does not seem to suit his preferred style and there has been little prospect of senior action.
The summer of 2018 seems long ago. Then, the 16-year-old had made such an impression with his maturity in senior training that John O’Shea made the case that he should replace him in that final Championshipclash against Wolves, symbolically taking the arm band as a sign of things to come.
Jack Ross inherited a threadbare squad but when Mumba started the opening two games of the season, he was there on merit. He had played throughout pre-season with a composure and maturity well beyond his years.
Even if opportunities throughout the season declined, he remained a regular in training and made a handful of further appearances. Shortly after he signed his professionalcontract, Mumbaw as brought on by Ross to help see out a vital win away at Plymouth Argyle. He was unlucky not to see more action in the Checkatrade Trophy, which often clashed with his international youth commitments.
His last league appearance, though, came in December, a reflection of the challenge in showing faith in youth players as the pressure of a promotion race rises.
Last season would prove to be a difficult one, and the pressure around the firstteam in general was only higher as the campaign began.
Ross initially took the decision that it was important for Mum batosp end time with the U23s, as the jump to the firstteam squad had been a wellearned but significant one.
That side, though, has not been an easy side to play in.
Sources feared that playing in such a poor side may have harmed the youngster’s progression, and it is clear that the change in management has not suited his prospects.
So, without a doubt, Norwich City are taking something of a calculated gamble.
Time is on his side, but Mumba has much to prove, staff at Sunderland have regularlystated that he has much to work on when it comes to his work off the ball.
It is instructive, though, that Norwich are set to offer Mumba a place in their firstteam squad as they push for an instant return to the Premier League. Mum bah as been told that he will offer cover in the right-back position. The debate over his best position reflects the challenges that have been presented over the last year or so. In the modern game, Mumba’s dribbling ability and composure on the ball make him an enticing prospect in the full-back position.
Yet in Sunderland’s U23 side, he has been playing in a team rarely able to make much of an attacking impression. This is perhaps one of the reasons why Norwich have taken the gamble. Norwich have proved exceptional at identifyingyoung talent in recent years and integrating them into their set up. If Stuart Webber, the club’s immensely respected sporting director, believes he may have secured a bargain, then perhaps that should be cause for concern. Mumba’s disappointing departure reflects the concerns many have about Sunderland’s Academy.
His pathway has become increasingly muddled and as a result, he leaves with Sunderland having seen neither the best of his talent or the revenue that could have generated.
As one club insider said: “You look at the young lad Luke Matheson at Rochdale, he’s no better than Bali but they’ve sold him for £1million to Wolves and we are getting £350,000 for Bali, because he’s been stuck in the 23s and sent out to South Shields.
“If the strategy is that we want to sell players, be honest and work together. Look at what Manchester United do,
they expose their academy players to the first team and if they don’t make it, at least their value has gone up.”
It’s a question worth pondering. Even if there is a need or a will to sell players, Sunderland are not doing so in a way that means they are unable to get the best possible return. Mumba’s development over the past two years further magnifies the fears that going into U18 and U23 campaigns with such weak squads could have long-term consequences,bothindevelopingplayersandalsoinconvincingthosemovingintothe groups that they should stay to be a part of them.
There is no exact science to player development or football generally and no one can say for certain how Mumba will develop.
The sense, though, is that this has been an unsatisfactory end to the Sunderland career of one of their most talented prospects. He has not been able to make a firstteam impression, nor has he generated the kind of revenue that will sustain the club past a very short-term boost.
The overwhelming fear is that there will be too many from that era who this could prove to be the case with.
The third instalment, published tomorrow, will look closely at a vital summer for the Academy. What’s happened so far, and what needs to happen next...