Eliezer Mayenda has asked Sunderland fans to be patient with the young players the club brought in last summer.
Mayenda was one of more than half a dozen of players aged just 20-years-old or younger who arrived on Wearside alongside Jobe Bellingham, Hemir, Nectarios Triantis, Jenson Seelt, Timothee Pembele and Adil Aouchiche.
Only really Jobe has made any kind of regular contribution so far, which has led to criticism from fans, not of the players themselves but the transfer model that brought them to the club.
Mayenda, though, who is currently on loan at Scottish club Hibernian, firmly believes all those players will come good with time.
Speaking to the Edinburgh Evening News about joining Sunderland last summer, Mayenda said: “Yeah, it was a difficult start.
“At Sunderland, we had a lot of new players coming in all at once. And there’s nothing easy in football. It’s not easy when you have so many new players in the team.
“But they are all really good players. All they need is patience. That is important in football.”
Mayenda was a surprise deadline day exit from Sunderland, especially with Michael Beale previously saying he felt it was important he stayed within the club earlier in the window.
He admits he was as surprised as anyone, but he’s also pleased the move materialise.
“I am happy here, happy to have made the move, and I am looking forward to enjoying my football," Mayenda said.
"I found out about the interest from Hibs on the last day of the transfer window and it sounded like a good option.
“I had been going to the academy at Sunderland, working hard and trying to help the team. But I was happy to sign the loan contract to come here.
“The gaffer here has told me that the most important thing is just to work every day. He knows I am young and still developing as a footballer, so I have to work and work every time I am on the training pitch or in the gym.
“When I play, he said the most important thing is to help the team. To do what the team needs. So I can play as a striker, a real number nine. But I can also play as a winger. The gaffer will decide that for me.”
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