Embleton's Cats role against Roma and where he can fit into Neil's side

Since Alex Neil took charge of Sunderland in the middle of February, Elliot Embleton has averaged a goal or an assist every 97 minutes in competitive fixtures.

The most memorable contribution was, of course, that opening goal at Wembley as the Black Cats overcame Wycombe in the League One play off final. Yet it’s easy to forget that Embleton started just seven of 18 games under Neil last term. While the midfielder has undoubted quality, his place in the side was far from guaranteed.

Embl et on’ s omissions have partly been down to Sunderland's other attacking options.

The 23-year-old has said he likes playing in the No 10 position but that is where Alex Pritchard often operates.

Embleton has also shown he can perform well on the flanks, yet Jack Clarke and Patrick Roberts provided more dynamic options in wide areas, while Neil had to change his side’s shape to play with an extra defender when he first arrived.

Yet there is also a third way Embleton can be embedded into this Sunderland team, which predominantly plays in a 4-2-3-1 formation under Neil, and that is in a slightly deeper midfield role. While he was given licence to get forward when his team were attacking, the 23-year-old started in the engine room as Sunderland were beaten 2-0 by Roma in a pre-season friendly.

While Jay Matete generally operated in front of the side’s back four, and it was Luke O’Nien’s job to support the Black Cats’ forward players, Embleton transitioned between the two roles.

At times he helped Sunderland press high up the pitch effectively alongside O’Nien, while he was also required to drop in next to Matete when the team retreated into a defensive shape.

Yet the most impressive part of Embleton’s game was his ability in possession, and there were times he simply skipped past opponents to help his side advance up the pitch.

Without a natural striker, Sunderland may have struggled to cause Roma’s organised backline many problems in Portugal. That will be expected to change when the Black Cats are playing against weaker opponents, and with a full-strength side. So does Embl et on have all the capabilitiesto consistently operate in the aforementioned role? And could Sunderland get the best of him there?