Is there a better midfield three in the Championship right now than Sunderland’s Jobe Bellingham, Dan Neil, and Chris Rigg?

If there is, I have yet to see it.

After each game I try to highlight the Sunderland players who stood out from the crowd.

The trouble is that, week-in and week-out, Bellingham, Neil, and Rigg, are raising the bar and redefining the level!

They are making the exceptional seem routine and putting the super into superlative.

The trio gave another masterclass last weekend at the Stadium of Light as Sunderland despatched Oxford United with consummate ease.

It ended 2-0 but, in truth, it could have been four or five.

The Black Cats made Oxford look like what they are, a side fresh out of League One - and that is not meant as a slight against the Us.

Because Oxford have made a promising start to life in the Championship under Des Buckingham and arrived on Wearside sitting in midtable, having already beaten play-off hopefuls Norwich City and secured creditable draws against promotion contenders Burnley, West Brom, and against a Luton Town side that should be competing at the top end of the table rather than scratching around near the bottom.

They were swept away by Sunderland, though, and Buckingham admitted as much afterwards.

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From the moment Bellingham headed Regis Le Bris’ side in front on the quarter-hour it was a matter not of ‘if’ but of ‘how many’ and, in a way, the only surprise was that all they had to show for their subsequent efforts was Wilson Isidor’s sublime volley in the second half.

Much of the credit for that dominant display should go to Sunderland’s midfield triumvirate.

Bellingham enjoyed arguably his best all-round outing in a red and white shirt, with his passing and movement leaving the Oxford players chasing shadows.

He was ably assisted by Rigg, whose energy and non-stop running pulled Oxford’s defence this way and that.

And it was Neil who provided the platform for them from his role as pivot.

Neil has played in this defensive midfield role before, but this season he has established himself there.

It is a position that can sometimes be under-appreciated, but it is essential to the functioning of the team and the signs are that Neil will become a worthy long-term successor to Corry Evans in that role following the latter’s summer departure.

The fact that Sunderland’s midfield includes two teenagers in Bellingham (19) and Rigg (17) alongside the (relatively) long-in-the-tooth Neil at 22, and that Rigg and Neil are homegrown academy products, means it is no wonder that fans are excited by what they have seen so far - and the promise of what is to come.

At this rate, sporting director Kristjaan Speakman will face a difficult task in January to ward off interest in the three youngsters who have so far been the driving force in Sunderland’s promotion push.

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Last week I posed the question: are Sunderland the real deal?

A little over 24 hours later they burnished their promotion credentials with that fine win against Oxford, which meant they widened their lead at the top of the Championship to five points.

Sunderland fans are - rightly - wary of getting ahead of themselves, but the evidence continues to stack up.

The Black Cats have won three in a row and now face back-to-back away games against struggling QPR this weekend and then Preston on Wednesday night.

If they successfully navigate those two road trips, at what point does seeing become believing?