Sunderland signed Luke O’Nien from Wycombe Wanderers earlier this summer.
Sunderland looked to have made a shrewd addition to their squad when they signed midfielder Luke O’Nien from Wycombe Wanderers earlier this summer.
The new Black Cats man arrived on Wearside with a decent reputation, having impressed in Wycombe’s promotion from League Two last season.
However, after a shaky start in the games the 24-year-old has featured in for Jack Ross’s side this season, it is evident that O’Nien must improve on his early-season displays.
The midfielder has made four appearances in the third tier and two in domestic cup competitions, but has often looked overly keen to impress and often finds himself out of his central midfield position.
O’Nien’s worst performance came on the opening day against Charlton Athletic, where he struggled to get with the pace of the game and the player was brought off at half time.
The former Watford player recently featured in Sunderland’s Checkatrade Trophy win over Stoke City’s Under-21 and, aside from an impressive penalty in the shootout, O’Nien once again seemed to struggle with the physical aspect.
O’Nien clearly has ability, which he showed last season for Wycombe, where he played 40 games in a long fourth tier campaign, also bagging eight league goals.
However, if the midfielder hopes to have a future on Wearside, he must recapture some of the form shown last season in Sunderland’s upcoming games.
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