Nordi Mukiele: Defender’s return from injury could secure Sunderland top-half finish
Nordi Mukiele returned to Sunderland’s matchday squad against Newcastle United after a month on the sidelines, and he could have a huge impact on their top-half chances.
The 28-year-old was one of Sunderland‘s most eye-catching signings of their summer transfer window, arriving from French giants Paris Saint-Germain.
He’d win back-to-back Ligue 1 titles with the Parisians between 2022-2024, and had time with clubs such as Bayer Leverkusen, RB Leipzig and Montpellier respectively on his CV.
A one-cap France international, Mukiele arrived on Wearside last summer still very much in the prime of his career, and instantly had the feeling of being a highly shrewd capture by the Black Cats.
So, seven games of their Premier League season to go, having him back in the fold could be the catalyst for Regis Le Bris‘ boys to go on and secure a top-half finish.
How good has Nordi Mukiele been for Sunderland this season?
Mukiele went off in tears against Fulham back on 22 February, after sustaining a calf injury after just 12 minutes in Sunderland’s 3-1 defeat at the Stadium of Light that day.
He hasn’t kicked a ball in anger since, and the Black Cats have felt his absence, as they won just once in their following four games in all competitions.
| Mukiele’s 24-25 Bundesliga Leverkusen stats | Result |
| Appearances | 15 |
| Big chances created | 2 |
| Pass accuracy | 81% |
| Ground duels won | 67% |
| Dribble success | 56% |
Then came the Tyne-Wear derby, and whilst he didn’t take part in Sunderland’s memorable win at St James’ Park on the pitch, it was an afternoon that saw his name return to Le Bris’ teamsheet.
Cheers could be heard around Sunderland at the sight of his name back in the matchday squad, as the Frenchman has been fabulous in his debut campaign in the North East.
Splitting his time between both centre-back and right-back duties, he’s shown his versatility and class in every role asked of him, and has been in the team for seven of Sunderland’s nine clean sheets in the Premier League this term.
As per Sofascore, Mukiele has averaged 62 touches per game, created seven big chances, played an average of 0.8 key passes per game and has won 2.3 tackles per game in the top flight.
He’s also been dribbled past on average just 0.4 times per match, made four ball recoveries per 90, made just two errors leading to shots and has won 63 per cent of his aerial duels respectively.
Luke O’Nien should be sacrificed for Mukiele
The aforementioned Tyne-Wear derby win saw the vast majority of those in Sunderland shirts put in brilliant performances, but one who didn’t have his best game was Luke O’Nien.
Indeed, the 31-year-old made a number of errors and overall didn’t look too comfortable operating as the right centre-back.
Mukiele has shown no such issues there this season, and so as important a character and as brilliant a servant as O’Nien has been for Sunderland, his time as a viable starting option on Wearside are probably past him.
So, Le Bris should, if Mukiele is fully fit and ready to go again, restore the former PSG defender back to his starting lineup for the mouth-watering clash with Tottenham on 12 April.
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