'Lives for the club' - Wilson Isidor hails Sunderland teammate who has made 'impact' on him since transfer

Sunderland summer signing Wilson Isidor has hailed club stalwart Luke O’Nien for his impact on helping him settle and embrace a new challenge on Wearside.

The Frenchman arrived at the Stadium of Light last month from Zenit St. Petersburg on an initial loan deal with an option-to-buy attached, and has since made two substitute appearances for Regis Le Bris’ first team.

Speaking at a fan Q&A event earlier this week, Isidor was quick to praise the quality of his new teammates, but picked out defender O’Nien as one particularly integral character both on and off the pitch. He said: “In the team, we have got a lot of talent. Who made an impact on me early was Luke O’Nien. You feel that the guy lives for the club. He is so involved in everything on the pitch and off the pitch for the group. He is a really really big leader. His quality made an impact on me the most when I came to the club.”

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Elsewhere, Isidor also reserved positive words for his new head coach, adding: “He is a really good coach. He doesn’t need to talk too much to make us understand his ideas. When he says something, he doesn’t need to say it twice for you to understand. He has great ideas and as a group, we all like them. He is a really good coach.”

During another fan interaction, Isidor was asked what he likes about being at Sunderland, to which he answered: “The fans. The history of the club. The stadium. We can all like a lot of things about the club. The jersey is also a beautiful colour. It’s the biggest club in the North East of England.”

Isidor started his senior career with AS Monaco, and was sent out on a number of loan spells before moving to Russia in 2022 to sign for Lokomotiv Moscow. The 24-year-old has been on the books at Zenit from the summer of 2023 onwards, registering four goals in 26 appearances across all competitions.