Sunderland’s young winger Duncan Watmore seems to be dividing opinion amongst Black Cats fans at the moment.
Some think he is a bright, young talent who offers Sunderland unrivalled pace and effort out wide. Meanwhile, others think he simply does not, unfortunately, have enough quality to cut it at this level.
It is clear to see that David Moyes has taking a liking to Watmore in the early stages of this season. To many people’s surprise, he is being preferred over Wahbi Khazri and has, up to now, has featured in all 6 of Sunderland’s Premier League matches so far this season, starting 3. However, he is yet to score a goal or provide an assist for a team mate so far this season.
Here, I will be arguing against Duncan Watmore. However, Ciaran Race will be battling on the behalf of Duncan Watmore about why he deserves a place in the Sunderland side.
We’ll start with the negatives, so we can finish on a positive.
Firstly I’d like to say that, as a person, I like Duncan Watmore. He works hard and, unlike a lot of young Premier League footballers in 2016, he seems very humble and down to earth..
On the pitch, however, he can be just a bit infuriating.
In the 2014/15 season, we were all aware of Watmore’s incredible form in the reserves and when he was featuring more in the first team squads last season, it was a decision welcomed by all.
Since then, its unfortunate to say he hasn’t quite lived up to expectations.
As i said, he works hard, and he is like a whippet when he gets going. But it seems that’s all he can do. No real skill means all that pace is wasted, as he can’t get past defenders. Too many times we have seen Watmore just run into defenders. Some of the harsher social media critics have said its like watching someone chase a crisp packet down the street on a windy day.
On the odd occasion when he does get past a defender, or when we’re on the counter, he very rarely has an end product and frequently overruns the ball or picks the wrong pass.
I think our fans have to change attitudes towards players like Watmore. We seem to have much more time for players who work hard over players who have quality. The fact Watmore has featured in every Premier League match for Sunderland this season despite not offering a lot and Jeremain Lens has been shipped out on loan and is now playing European football proves this. Granted Lens could be frustrating too, but he has a lot more quality than Duncan Watmore and would end the season again with more assists and goals.
I wouldn’t completely give up on Watmore though. Maybe a loan transfer to a Championship club would help him learn a lot and bring him back a more mature, all round better player. I do think Watmore would do well in the Championship, which is why i would keep a hold of him just in case the worst case scenario for Sunderland’s season happens. However, it genuinely pains me to say that, at this level, I just don’t think Watmore is good enough.
As promised, now for the positives from Ciaran Race.
I accept that Duncan Watmore is a player who has split opinion throughout his time at Sunderland. The young winger has an abundance of pace and the ability to seemingly run for days on end like Forrest Gump.
Whilst I agree with Jordan that Watmore’s final ball and decision making isn’t the best, he gives us something else that no one else in our attacking line up. He gives us pace and a direct style.
Jamie Vardy showed us at Leicester that defenders hate someone who can run all day and is looking to get behind the defence at every opportunity.
Now more than ever Defoe needs a bit of help up front and if Watmore can learn what runs to make and when to go he can cause a lot of problems. There’s no doubt his pace can open the game up, as well as freeing up space for Defoe and give us a bit more of a surprise factor going forward.
Still very young and a bit of a raw talent if Watmore can work on his touch, be smarter with his runs and be a bit more consistent he could be a real big asset to Sunderland and could improve our attacking line up to no end.
I certainly don’t think he is worth giving up on just yet, given he is still relatively early into his footballing career.
