'I think...' - Sunderland figure fires Trey Ogunsuyi warning after 13th goal against Manchester City

Sunderland lead coach Graeme Murty has warned of putting too much pressure on the shoulders of young striker Trey Ogunsuyi.

The 18-year-old has been in superb form this season, netting 13 goals across Sunderland’s under-21 and under-18 sides so far this campaign, with two assists also to his name. The Belgian youth international has even made the bench twice this season for the first team against Portsmouth and Millwall but is still awaiting his first senior minutes.

Ogunsuyi turned in an impressive display during Sunderland’s under-21s’ 3-2 loss against Manchester City at Eppleton in the Premier League 2 last weekend, once again finding himself on the scoresheet under the watchful eye of Murty.

“He had a hard game against some good opponents,” Murty told The Echo when asked about Ogunsuyi after the game against Manchester City last Saturday. “He looks a threat. He looks like he's going to score. There's lots of things we need to tidy up for him. I think he'll probably think he could have got another one. He's unlucky with the one that hit the post.

“We need to see him be much, much more consistent in his availability for the ball and for the team. Because when he is, he's a really good focal point. But he's a very, very young man. He's only just turned 18. So we have to be really careful not to load too much expectation on him. Just allow him to blossom at his own time and continue to support his development and I think that he's shown some really good signs.”

Asked how excited he was by Ogunsuyi’s form, Murty said: “I'm excited for all of them. There's lots of quality in the team. So there are a lot of people in there that I think have got the capacity to play adult football, to play in a men's team. There are obviously elements we need to iron out with them all. But I think the group collectively are quite good. I just wish they believed it as much as I do.”

Against Millwall last month, Sunderland named a first-team squad with eight Academy of Light graduates including starters Anthony Patterson, Chris Rigg, Dan Neil and Tommy Watson; alongside substitutes Zak Johnson, Ogunsuyi, Harrison Jones and Ben Middlemas.

“We're really strong on our pathway about nurturing our talent and making sure that young players get an opportunity in our first teams,” Murty replied when asked about Sunderland’s flourishing settlement set-up at the Academy of Light. “And as much as that can be very, very flowery rhetoric, it has to be actioned and it has to be viable for the players to see it.

“They need to see it and be able to touch it and see that that pathway is a real tangible thing for them. So we think that showing them our average age across the squads, across the years, and the availability of slots within our first-team environment really makes a strong case for us being at the forefront of development of young players in the Championship, possibly in the country. And we would say that we're a really, really good landing spot for young talent to really go and experience what it might be to get into a first team.”