All told, Sunderland fans will look back on the 2025/26 season as an overwhelming success.
Unlike Burnley, who were promoted to the Premier League for the final season along with the Black Cats, the Wearside side appear to have comfortably held on to the top flight after a season-long hiatus, with Regis Le Bris’ side currently sitting 11th in the division.
Surprisingly, if the season ended today, the Black Cats would also finish ahead of arch-rivals Newcastle United, but that doesn’t mean this campaign has been completely perfect.
In fact, the fragility of Sunderland’s defense was obvious to everyone. Last time out, he quickly scored four goals against Aston Villa in a Premier League classic, potentially putting Reinild in danger in the process.
Why Le Brice could replace Reinild after Villa
Despite Sunderland conceding four goals against Villa Park, the Black Cats’ never-say-die attitude shone through when they leveled the game at 3-3 late in the second half and almost sealed the result.
Unfortunately for the hosts, it was Tammy Abraham who had the last laugh. They couldn’t get tight enough to prevent the likes of Luke O’Nien from taking down busy former AS Roma striker Robin Roofs. By the time the clock hit 93 minutes.
While the passionate No. 13 spent a blistering afternoon in the Midlands as attackers such as Morgan Rodgers and Ollie Watkins had a field day against the plucky former Atletico Madrid full-back, Reinild was also well off his usual standards.
The Mozambican international has been mostly effective on the left this season, keeping five clean sheets in 19 Premier League starts.
However, he had a terrible off-season with zero tackles and eight possession losses.
As a result, Villa found themselves easily able to get around the 32-year-old Rufus and became more confident that they could beat him again, making Abraham a last-gasp winner.
It remains to be seen whether Sunderland, who is in the twilight of his career, will continue to use Reinild, who had a similarly poor performance against Arsenal in February, winning just three of 11 games, further exposing his weaknesses.
Le Blis may be tempted to swap Reinild for another presence on the left flank for the upcoming fixture against Nottingham Forest. He could become the Black Cats’ new version of Lee Cattermole…
Le Bris could unleash a new Cattermole
Sunderland could have displayed some of Cattermole’s famous grit at Villa Park, trying to halt wave after wave of Villa attacks.
Although his performances were far from spectacular on Wearside, the long-serving Black Cats captain remains a key cog throughout his 262 games for the club due to his tough tackling nature, with Cattermole described as a “true leader” by former teammate Craig Gardner.
Cattermole, who made 262 appearances in the Premier League, will no doubt look back on his fiery career at Sunderland with pride. Trey Hume is now looking to recreate his long top flight days with the Black Cats as a similarly muscular and active performer.
The Northern Irishman is already much loved at the Stadium of Light, having made 167 appearances for the club, but his journey began when the Sleeping Giants were eliminated from League One.
After making an imposing cameo against Unai Emery’s hosts, he should now be thrust back into the starting XI against Vitor Pereira’s side in the bright lights of the Premier League.
In fact, Hume was relentless from the moment he found himself in a back-and-forth game, making seven tackles and winning a duel in just 27 minutes, living up to the ‘warrior’ duties handed to him by his former manager.
Hume-inspired Cameo vs. Villa | |
|---|---|
status | fume |
Play time (minutes) | 27 |
Number of points scored | 1 |
tackle win | 2/3 |
won a duel | 5/6 |
Having scored Sunderland’s second goal of the day and with Cattermole also striking all over the place for the Black Cats, it’s clear the 24-year-old should start at Tricky Trees in the next game as he is a fan favorite.
The left-back position on the pitch is not his natural position, and he prefers the right-back position.
But wherever he is thrown, he will do his best to fill the void for his beloved team, even playing alongside Cattermole – once – as a right-midfielder.
They may be better known in this team or this team, but any successful team needs a Cattermole or Hume to do the dirty work.
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