Simon Grayson shares conversation with Sunderland’s Jack Rodwell that led to position change

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Jack Rodwell has recently moved into a centre-back role for Sunderland’s under-23 side, and Simon Grayson has suggested that may be where his future lies.

Simon Grayson has suggested that Sunderland midfielder Jack Rodwell told him that moving to centre-back may be the best option for him as his body cannot handle the demands of playing in the middle of the park, the Shields Gazette reports.

Rodwell has endured a pretty miserable time since moving to the Stadium of Light, with his own form often mirroring the struggles that the club have been going through as they plummeted from the Premier League towards the relegation zone in the Championship.

But it appears that there may be some light at the end of the tunnel for the 26-year-old as he impressed at the heart of the defence in a couple of recent under-23 games, and Grayson hinted that that may be where his future lies.

“It’s a decision we both took. I spoke to Jack early on in my time here and said to him that I needed to get him back to a level of fitness and showing the potential that he did when he made moves previously,” he said, as reported by the Shields Gazette.

“He told me that, before going into the first team, he had played centre-half for Everton and also through the age groups with England, and he felt that might be his best position because psychologically, and maybe physically as well, his body perhaps can’t take the demands of playing in midfield any more.”

Grayson will certainly be hoping that Rodwell’s move back proves to be an inspired one as the Black Cats are certainly in need of some inspiration based on the way that they have started the season.

Sunderland find themselves second-bottom in the Championship. And with six goals coming in their last four league games, it is not difficult to see what their main problem has been recently.

They have taken just two points during that run, and that is because they have managed to concede 10 goals, including seven in their last two. So Grayson will need Rodwell to prove at centre-back why he was once being talked about as one of the country’s future stars.