Elliot Embleton could have a big role to play at Sunderland next season with Phil Parkinson hoping to promote the young midfielder to his first-team squad, according to the Chronicle.
If things had been different, this Durham-born 21-year-old would already have a healthy tally of League One appearances under his belt.
Embleton caught the eye of Jack Ross during Sunderland’s 2019 pre-season campaign, only to suffer the most cruelly-timed of hamstring injuries which ruined his hopes of a Black Cats breakthrough.
12 months on, however, the England U20 international is fit and firing once again.
And though Ross has long-since departed, handed his P45 after a miserable start to this season, the Scot’s replacement is also a big fan of a talented and dynamic playmaker who started the opening day draw against Oxford United last August.
The Chronicle claims that Parkinson has big hopes for Embleton, with a first-team role beckoning for a man who so far has just one league start to his name.
And, who knows, perhaps he could add some much-needed thrust in the centre of the park.
With four goals during a loan spell at Grimsby Town in 2018/19, he is perhaps the most naturally gifted attacking midfielder at Sunderland’s disposal.
“Hopefully we can get him involved. He’s a player of real quality; he can unlock the door with a bit of quality, and I feel he’s got a role to play, if we can him up to speed in the next week or so,” Parkinson told The Chronicle in March.
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