Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris has warned free-scoring forward Trey Ogunsuyi that he will be best served by staying in the North East amid interest from Liverpool.
The Reds have not been afraid to target young talent with high potential in recent times. The club's academy signed Trey Nyoni from Leicester, Amara Nallo from West Ham and Rio Ngumoha from Chelsea earlier this year.
Ogunsuyi, 17, is starting to build an impressive reputation, with the Black Cats having scored 15 goals in 17 appearances in their youth teams. These figures include three goals in two games against Liverpool.
Ogunsuyi has been named as one of the Championship substitutes three times this season and could yet follow in the footsteps of young stars Chris Rigg, 17, and Tommy Watson, 18, in breaking through. Sunderland have overseen Ogunsuyi's development over the past eight years and the young striker is a Belgian youth international.
Sunderland boss Le Bris believes the young talent has plenty of players to look up to at the Stadium of Light. He said, “Yes, I think so. He is still very young and Riggy, Tommy and Jobe are probably the best examples to follow in our club.
“When you move to another club with a very strong squad, you have to find the right environment to develop yourself. I don't know. Social media and the like can say a lot, but in the end if we create the right environment and the player, his family and agents are rational, we are in a good place to create the right path for him.”
Le Bris could soon offer Ogunsuyi a clear path to his side, but the Frenchman was cautious in making predictions about how soon the teenager could feature for Sunderland's senior side. “I don't really know. It's a matter of odds,” he added.
“He has been in training, so now we know each other and he knows the group. Sometimes you have to wait, sometimes it can happen after two or three games. He is close to the group.”
However, signing a striker is on the agenda for Sunderland. “We probably have specific attention for one or two players who can help [strikers] but it is not an easy task because the group is strong,” said Le Bris.
“With a lot of young players and a lot of young surprises, because some of them were not expected to play at that level and because they have had opportunities to play, I think that is the identity of the club. They have shown that they can play at that level.” “
“It's not just one player anymore, it's someone who has to fit the project and the composition of the team and it's not an easy task,” he added.
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