Embleton sets sail for a spell with Mariners
ELLIOT Embleton has gone on loan to Grimsby Town – to have the game time he probably should have had last season.
The cultured midfielder impressed with his set-piece delivery against Sheffield Wednesday in the League Cup but such is the Black Cats’ embarrassment of riches he has not made it on to the pitch in a League One match yet.
He should have that opportunity at Blundell Park after joining the Mariners until January.
Sunderland manager Jack Ross said: “I have spoken quite a lot to Elliott because I really like him.
“Every time he has trained with me he has got better - but he needs to be playing.
“I think in hindsight he probably could have done with this over the second half of last season, being out on loan and coming back in having played first-team games.
“I think it will be good for him and it will just be until January in the first instance. It lets him have games at a senior level and then we can assess it from there.”
Late last season, then-manager Chris Coleman said it might be in Embleton’s best interests to go out on loan for regular football, though he had League One in mind for the Durham-born player.
With George Honeyman, Lee Cattermole, Dylan McGeouch, Max Power, Luke O’Nien, Ethan Robson and Bali Mumba for competition, Embleton has been unable to get even that at the Stadium of Light.
He missed pre-season because he played for England at this summer’s European Under-19 Championships, where he scored the goal of the tournament.
Under-23 striker Connor Shields is set to join Alloa on a season-long loan - but injury is likely to stop Andrew Nelson returning to Falkirk.
Ross added: “Andrew’s injury has been a bit more problematic than we first thought.
“It was a really unusual injury, he dislocated three of his toes.
“We were hoping he would come back relatively quickly but it has been a bit more troublesome.
“We do not envisage him being fit until the end of September at the earliest, That is frustrating for him but when he gets fit he will come back in and train with us.”