Embleton is impressing at promotion rivals Blackpool - could he have played his part at SAFC?

Blackpool fans are delighted to have him!

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Phil Butler says...

Despite seeing him play well the other night, I still think that the decision to loan Embleton out was the correct one. If we end up finishing just about Peterborough, who Embleton helped Blackpool to defeat on Tuesday night, it could be a decision that has actively helped us to win promotion.

However, regardless of how he performs at Blackpool and whether or not he could have improved our own squad the decision to loan him out instead of keeping him just in case was a good signal to other youngsters at the club that the new Manager and Director of Football are willing to prioritise the long term development of our players even if this means taking a slight risk in the short term.

Furthermore, it’s quite likely that Embleton would have fulfilled a role similar to that of Jack Diamond who has started just one game since Jordan Jones leaped ahead of him in the pecking order and once you consider that Chris Maguire remained at the club and Ross Stewart is now back to fitness it’s difficult to imagine Embleton getting the game time he needed between January and May if he had remained at the Stadium of Light.

With so many players out of contract, ending their loan spells or just liable to be moved on during the summer window, Embleton will have the chance to find his role in the squad rebuilt under the new regime. Any chance to gain first team football in the meantime will do his chances of securing an important role in that rebuild no harm at all.

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Kelvin Beattie says...

I declare my hand straight away 0 I have always liked the cut of this lad’s jib.

His balance and touch on the ball are something I believe we do not have on our books at present. His quick feet and imagination with the ball in the opposition box have promised much (without always delivering).

So, it will be perhaps a surprise when I say it was a good move for him to go to Blackpool.

I believe he has been given the kind of game time he would not have gotten had he stayed. Critchley, the Blackpool boss, we are told has a good football ethos that should lend itself to Embleton’s style of play.

I had thought for some time prior to his loan, that what he needed most of all was an injury-free run of playing time. I am hoping that match fitness and importantly for him, confidence will build and that he will bring this back to Sunderland and we will be the beneficiaries.

The other thing that impressed me was the medium-term thinking from the club. It has been a good while since I was impressed with a medium-term strategic decision from the club. Is this the Speakman-Johnson effect? If so it looks like a good plan at the moment.

I hope we see Embo back at Sunderland next season and “the cut of his jib” enthralls us all.

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Sam Blakey says...

When I first heard the news that we were loaning Embleton to Blackpool I was confused and gutted with the decision. However, for possibly the first time in my lifetime supporting Sunderland, I now trust in the process.

Whilst I think Embleton would have his uses in our squad at the moment - mainly due to him offering something different from midfield with his forward runs, and the way in which he uses both feet brilliantly - I do think the decision to loan him out is the right one.

Throughout his career so far, Embleton has been very unlucky with injuries and fitness, and that’s why I think a stint in the starting eleven for Blackpool for the later stages in the season could be vital for his growth as a player. If he can stay fit and be in the team week in, week out, then it’s progress for him in terms of his fitness.

I do hope that after this season Embo comes back fit and raring to go for the new season - with everything crossed it’s in the Championship, of course.

Danny Collins on the club’s stream commentary is always talking Embleton up from his time with him at Grimsby saying how he’s fantastic on the ball, and a player who can use both feet, and we don’t currently have too many of those types in the squad currently!

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