One player at the Stadium of Light, in Sunderland manager Mike Dodds’ opinion, has “huge potential.”
Sunderland’s 2-0 victory over Cardiff City on Good Friday snapped a seven-match losing streak in the Championship.
Since firing Tony Mowbray, the Black Cats have gone through a difficult period. Michael Beale’s reign of terror eventually came to an end, and Mike Dodds took over as temporary manager, but he ultimately faltered.
A dread of being forced into a relegation battle has caused Sunderland to plummet like a stone in the Championship table and to completely disappear from the play-off picture.
A strong showing in South Wales allayed such worries, as the Wearsiders looked like their best again. As a striker, Jobe Bellingham was unstoppable, scoring his sixth goal of the year, and offensive midfielder Adil Aouchiche added a goal and an assist.
The result and Bellingham’s performance weren’t the only positives from the game as Dodds welcomed Aji Alese back into the squad.
Aji Alese returns to Sunderland squad against Cardiff City
Due to physical setbacks, Alese has only made three appearances for Sunderland this season; his last outing came in a 2-1 loss to Ipswich Town in January.
Even though he doesn’t play much, the club values him highly and has given him a new deal that runs through 2027.
Given the severity of his injury issues, the 23-year-old concluded the good news by making his first-team debut in a Championship game for just the third time this season.
The left-back, who they acquired from West Ham in 2022, will be looking to put his injury woes behind him and return to peak performance when he comes off the bench against Cardiff.
Tony Mowbray praised him as “amazing” after he recovered from an earlier injury in January of last year and put on a commanding defensive performance against Middlesbrough.
Now, current manager Dodds shares a similar view towards the talented defender.
Mike Dodds believes Aji Alese has ‘huge potential’
Alese may have suffered from several unfortunate injury setbacks, but the club haven’t forgotten his talent by giving him a new contract.
Dodds would have been one of the key figures pushing for him to agree on fresh terms. The 37-year-old has waxed lyrical over his potential and believes he will play a prominent role at the club.
“Aji’s a great example of the positive side of our recruitment, an U23 footballer who came in and has done really well for us,” Dodds told We Are Sunderland. “The frustration for all of us is that we haven’t been able to see it over a consistent period of time.
“I don’t think that’s anyone’s fault, but he’s a huge part of the future of the football club. He’s got huge potential and it’s our and my responsibility to keep pushing him so that he can reach his potential.”
With Dennis Cirkin and Niall Huggins still sidelined, Alese can use the last seven games to make that left-back spot his heading into pre-season.
