View: Sunderland youth gem Harrison Jones succeeds in 100% audition
Harrison Jones made his first senior start for Sunderland in their FA Cup defeat to Stoke City and it’s another milestone to be proud of.
While the Black Cats’ 2-1 defeat to Stoke brought a missed opportunity financially, it presented a chance for Jones to showcase his worth to the senior set-up.
The 20-year-old has impressed massively at youth level and was handed his debut earlier in the campaign in an EFL Cup defeat to Preston with his latest appearance providing him with his first start.
There is work to be done for the midfielder but the initial signs were promising.
Harrison Jones makes full Sunderland debut
Given the injury crisis matched with the ambitions of achieving promotion this season, it came as little surprise to see a handful of changes made for the tie but very few will have expected Jones to be named in the starting 11.
However, he was and his performance was cause for optimism given it was his first start.
According to FotMob, Jones recorded an 86 per cent pass accuracy from 21 attempted passes. Granted, that doesn’t seem like a lot of involvement, but his tempo could only be matched by his teammates in what was an underwhelming team performance.
Jones certainly impressed in other areas and showcased his willingness to get stuck in with a 100 per cent tackle win rate, as well as winning five of his nine defensive ground duels, which considering he was up against some seasoned Championship pros is good going.
He also won 50 per cent of his aerial duels while completing six defensive recoveries in the 79 minutes he played.
It’s unlikely that Jones will feature too much if at all going forward this season, but the initial signs of his performance were promising.
In other Sunderland news, the Black Cats want to sign this forward who scored six Premier League goals last season.
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