Everybody is talking about how important it is for Sunderland to sign a new right back. Evidently Billy Jones is not really Premier League material, but would be a good back-up option for us. However, the coaching staff seem to have forgotten that Seb Larsson in his younger days filled that position with great aplomb, both here, at Birmingham City and at Arsenal. He is certainly not as quick as he used to be, but his defensive qualities have not diminished, and since we have an attacking left back in Patrick Van Aanholt, I believe that having a strong defensively minded right back would be a great balancing act.
Larsson played in that position last week against Montpelier when Billy Jones limped off and to be fair to the Swede, he didn’t do too badly for his first pre-season match.
Assuming we do in fact sign Yann M’Vila, we will have plenty of cover in midfield, and therefore it would seem to me very sensible to give Seb a few more games at right back, and hopefully he can make that position his own and continue his career on Wearside. Larsson is unlikely to feature in the middle of the park this season, his role at the club has become somewhat unclear over the last 12 months, however, his talent and work ethic are undeniable, so don’t be surprised to see David Moyes try and find a place for Larsson in his squad.
Last season’s loanee DeAndre Yedlin certainly improved his game under Sam Allardyce, but I feel that he has along way to go before he would justify his asking price of £5-million..
Why not stick with what we have right now and give Seb Larsson a chance to shine once again?
