The former US Under-20 international forward has started all four of Sunderland’s games this season.
Sunderland youngster Lynden Gooch has told the Men in Blazers podcast how learning from Jermain Defoe has helped him break into the starting line-up at the Stadium of Light.
Gooch, who left his native USA to join Sunderland’s academy in 2012, has been one of the obvious bright spots for the Black Cats so far this season, starting all four of their games and picking up the man-of-the-match award for his performance in the 2-1 loss to Middlesbrough.
The 20-year-old American attacker had previously made just one senior appearance for the club, when he came on as a second-half substitute in last season’s 6-3 League Cup win over Exeter City, but he has quickly won the admiration of new manager David Moyes and endeared himself to fans with his industrious displays.
He actually began training with the first-team last year before joining Doncaster Rovers on loan in January for the rest of the 2015-16 campaign – a spell which was ultimately cut short by injury – and the former US Under-20 international says that Defoe’s guidance since then has been a big factor in his subsequent emergence.
“There are a lot of young players in and around the squad,” Gooch told the Men in Blazers. “I’ve obviously got a lot of friends that haven’t broken through yet, so I’m very close to them, but I also try and just learn from Jermain Defoe to be honest.
“I’m around him a lot, always trying to learn from him and take in his experience. He’s got unbelievable experience, like John O’Shea and Lee Cattermole as well.
“Just being around the senior players is amazing. They’re amazing pros and they want to look after young players coming through as well, so it really helps.”
Whether Gooch can keep his spot in the Sunderland side over the likes of Wahbi Khazri and fellow youngster Ducan Watmore now remains to be seen, but his versatility should at least give him plenty of opportunities to establish himself in Moyes’ side going forward.
While predominantly a forward in the youth setup, the California native has played either on the wing or in a deeper central midfield role over the opening month of the season, showing an impressive amount of creativity and earning praise for his defensive work.
His performances have still not been enough to help his team earn their first league win of the campaign, but the American playmaker believes he has proven he deserves his spot in the line-up.
“I always thought I belonged, even last season when I was in and around the first-team training every day I could see that I was better than people that were in the squad,” Gooch added. “But even now that I’m playing, I know that I still need to keep improving and get better, of course.
“I’m a young player and hopefully I can do that under this manager because he believes in me and wants me to do well.”
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