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Sunderland Have Future £50m-plus Player As Jules Ahoka Shines Vs Brentford
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- Sunderland Have Future £50m-plus Player As Jules Ahoka Shines Vs Brentford
Sunderland beat Brentford 3-2 in Carabao Cup as Jules Ahoka shines yet again
Another Sunderland game, another exciting performance from Jules Ahoka for the Black Cats to see the young central midfielder continue his rapid developmental rise in the red-and-white stripes.
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Sunderland beat Brentford 3-2 in the Carabao Cup fourth-round on Wednesday evening, with first-half goals from Chemsdine Talbi, Timur Tutierov and Malick Fofana setting Regis Le Bris' side on course for an impressive, and much-needed victory to book a trip to Crystal Palace in the quarter-finals.
As well as the aforementioned goalscoring trio, Jocelin Ta Bi shone for Sunderland with three assists in his breakout performance for the Black Cats since arriving from five-time Israeli champions Maccabi Netanya back in January.
Rightly so, Ta Bi will steal the Sunderland headlines for his exciting performance on the right flank, but Ahoka was once again quietly showcasing why the Black Cats have signed a future midfield superstar with his performance.
Sunderland signed Ahoka in the summer transfer window from Belgian Pro League giants Royal Antwerp in an £8.6m deal, and the 20-year-old midfielder is already looking like a future £50m-plus player if he can continue the types of performances he has enjoyed in his debut Sunderland campaign, with the latest coming in the Brentford cup victory.
Jules Ahoka controls the ball in Sunderland vs Brentford (IMAGO / Every Second Media)
Jules Ahoka Shines Again For Sunderland With Brentford Display
The DR Congo starlet's debut for Sunderland came in the previous round of the Carabao Cup, in which Ahoka shone against Hull City with a cruising midfield performance, leaving the Stadium of Light faithful collectively overawed as to the calibre of player the Black Cats had signed in the summer.
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Thankfully, the central midfielder has proven that his debut was not an anomaly, but a sign of exciting things to come from the Sunderland prospect, with Ahoka opening his account for the Black Cats with the equaliser in the comeback SCU Torreense Europa League win, and his quality outing in the following 1-1 draw at Lech Poznan last week.
After being an unused substitute in Sunderland's goalless stalemate with Leeds United at the weekend, the athletic midfielder was granted another non-Premier League start by Le Bris against Brentford, and once again exhibited his lofty talent and potential.
Within the Bees' win, Ahoka made two defensive contributions, won 80 percent of his ground duels, and impressively was never dispossessed to control the midfield battle with ease against Keith Andrews' strong side, whilst also playing a pivotal role in Talbi's opener by slipping Ta Bi in with a wonderfully weighted and timed transitional pass.
However, the statistics do not paint the full picture of Ahoka's stunning performance, and it is the intangible assets to his Sunderland start that explain why Sunderland have a future superstar in their ranks.
Jules Ahoka shields the ball for Sunderland vs Brentford (IMAGO / Every Second Media)
Ahoka oozes so much quality in his midfield play, and the way he utilises his 6'1" frame to shield the ball from opponents and create small yet imperative distances in midfield to retain possession or find his next forward pass is a joy to behold.
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Additionally, the young midfielder is also a gifted athlete, with his pace and dynamism in midfield combining with his clear technical quality to make him the potential epitome of the modern-day midfield player.
The Sunderland starlet has the footballing IQ and defensive nouse to operate as a number six, but his box-crashing headed goal against Torreense also proved he has the attacking intent to impact the final third as a number eight would do so in yet another astounding aspect to the youngster's profile.
There are shades of ex-Barcelona and Manchester City icon Yaya Toure to his game, and considering that the Brentford outing was just Ahoka's ninth, yes, ninth, senior football game at club level, that is not hyperbolic praise.
Given that the 20-year-old has featured for just 25 minutes in the Premier League for Sunderland, with his substitute cameo in the 2-0 defeat at Bournemouth after entering the field with the Black Cats already two behind and down to ten men, the next test for Ahoka is to see if his outstanding Europa League and Carabao Cup performances can be translated into the pace of Premier League action.
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If Ahoka can do so, then Sunderland certainly have a future £50m-midfielder in their ranks.
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