Graeme Murty shares Ian Poveda insight after appearance for Sunderland U21 v Athletic Bilbao
Sunderland Under-21 boss Graeme Murty has revealed what Ian Poveda is like around the young group after he featured for the side in midweek.
Poveda signed over the summer on a free transfer after leaving Leeds United, and made his first-team debut against Portsmouth before the international break.
The former Manchester City starlet, 24, played half the match at the Stadium of Light on Wednesday (11 September) as Murty’s U21 side drew 2-2 with Athletic Club de Bilbao in their International Cup group opener.
Speaking to the Sunderland Echo [13 September], Murty said of Poveda: “He’s good to be around.
“He’s lively he’s quite a cheeky chap and he enjoys the ball. You can tell he just wants the ball all the time which is good for our players.
“They know that whatever the situation is 1v2 or 2v1, you can just go and give him the ball because he can manipulate it.
“He moves the ball well and he’s just moving through his progression to get himself to a situation where he feels at the top of his game.”
Ian Poveda settling in at Sunderland
Poveda was an astute pickup for Sunderland, available after his release by Leeds having spent the second half of last season on loan at Sheffield Wednesday.
A good age profile, an exciting player, but Poveda is just someone who needs a home to play his best football, much in the way of how fellow winger Patrick Roberts became an established Black Cats player after years of club-hopping.
No player receives a call-up to the Colombia national team for nothing, and Poveda clearly has talent and a work ethic when fit – he showed encouraging glimpses against Portsmouth with the game already effectively won.
With injuries having stagnated his momentum, the diminutive attacker is now just getting his bearings at another huge club in his career.
Should he succeed in sustaining a solid run of match fitness, Poveda could turn out to be an excellent free transfer acquisition on Wearside.
In other Sunderland news, Alan Browne’s international exploits were assessed by the media in Ireland.
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