DeAndre Yedlin makes ‘important’ Sunderland admission – ‘in hindsight it was…’
United States international DeAndre Yedlin has opened up on his time at Sunderland, reflecting on it as “one of the most important chapters” of his life.
Yedlin spent a season on loan at Wearside, playing under Sam Allardyce during their Premier League days before joining rivals Newcastle United the season after.
In an interview with FourFourTwo (5 November), Yedlin opened up on life at Sunderland and playing under Allardyce.
He said: “Big Sam is a bit more defensive, so positioning-wise, I had to work on that side of the game. I wasn’t in a different position on the field, but as far as how the team wanted to play, defensively I had to work a lot harder.
“I don’t remember who we were playing, but there was one game where I got pulled out after 20 minutes. For a soccer player, that’s not exactly what you want. For the next two months, I was sulking, feeling bad for myself, and obviously, I was on loan, so it wasn’t really the position you want to be in.
“In hindsight, it [Sunderland] was probably one of the most important chapters of my life.”
Was DeAndre Yedlin underappreciated at Sunderland?
Quite remarkably, it’s been nine years since Yedlin signed for Sunderland. He was a consistent figure in the Black Cats’ side under Big Sam and didn’t always get the praise he perhaps deserved.
Was he the most talented player in the squad? Probably not. But Yedlin gave everything in a Sunderland shirt and the side would have been far weaker without him.
Of course, his biggest attribute was his blistering pace. Yedlin was one of the fastest players in the Premier League at the time and that was often key for Sunderland when attempting to recover from a turn over of possession.
Perhaps his most notable appearance for Sunderland was against Chelsea, putting a cross into the box for Jermain Defoe to score. Setting up what is arguably the best atmosphere the Stadium of Light has ever witnessed.
As for Yedlin himself, I’m sure playing with Lionel Messi tops that moment on a personal level.
In other Sunderland news, Regis Le Bris says the language is “still a problem” for Milan Aleksic, who is yet to feature since signing for the club in the summer.
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