When it comes to Sunderland’s succession planning, Romaine Mundle may well check a lot of boxes at the Stadium of Light.
Mundle was one of three January transfer window acquisitions made by sporting director Kristjaan Speakman and is arguably the one to excite supporters the most, despite being brought into an area where Sunderland are well served on the wings. The arrival of Mundle though is, it seems, one for the future – perhaps sooner than Sunderland would ideally hope for.
It’s no secret that Jack Clarke remains destined to fulfil his Premier League potential at some stage. The York-born winger made a name for himself at Leeds United which resulted in the then 18-year-old completing a significant transfer to Tottenham Hotspur for a reported £10million fee in 2019. Although Clarke was loaned immediately back to Elland Road, the potential was already there with the winger who had hoped to tap into those reserves in North London.
For one reason or another, Clarke was never quite afforded the opportunities to progress with Tottenham – who went through a series of changes during what was a crucial development phase for Clarke following the departure of Mauricio Pochettino, who was replaced by Jose Mourinho. Clarke was in danger of stagnating beyond repair following a series of unsuccessful loan spells elsewhere in the Championship before finding a home in the North East with Sunderland. Clarke’s impact since joining on loan in January 2022 swayed the club to turn that deal into a permanent fixture where he has not looked back since over what has been a breathtaking 100-plus appearances in red and white.
Clarke’s numbers have been mightily impressive, to the point he was last month the subject of significant interest from Italian Serie A and Champions League knockout round side Lazio – having also alerted the attention of several Premier League clubs over the last few months. In that sense, Sunderland have done well to hold onto Clarke, remaining firm in their stance over what they feel is a suitable fee for one of the Championship’s leading scorers – Lazio then turning their interest to Plymouth Argyle’s Morgan Whittaker and receiving a similar response with the 23-year-old enjoying an equally excellent campaign at Home Park.
With that said, there is an acceptance that Clarke will move on to pastures new in the summer. And, should that be the case, it will leave a gaping hole in Sunderland’s squad - one that will be difficult to fill.
Enter Mundle.
Speakman has made no secret about the philosophy of the club to harness and develop potential in young players and that also requires succession planning for when those players reach their ceiling on Wearside and move on elsewhere. Ross Stewart is the club’s shining example to date after the striker was sold for a fee in the region of £10m to Southampton last summer after a remarkable spell with Sunderland where he scored 40 goals in 81 appearances after joining from Ross County.
Speakman’s succession planning for Stewart’s exit remains a key debate despite the club bringing in four strikers last summer to try and fill the void in young trio Luis Hemis, Eliezer Mayenda, Mason Burstow on loan from Chelsea and the more experienced, in terms of age, Nazariy Rusyn. Those four are still to find their feet, or the back of the net, nearly enough for Sunderland which has presented a big problem for whichever head coach has been in the dugout this season.
“We’ve got a lot of belief in the players in the group and we’ve just got to get clarity and maybe we haven’t been good enough with that clarity around what our expectation of the players is,” said Speakman.
“It’s just around the fact we’ve got to understand where they are in their journey, what the expectation is at this moment in time for them and where they need to get to.
“I do understand we live in a world where everyone wants everything instantly and that’s obviously a much easier outcome for everyone if players turn up, integrate immediately and perform. We had young Amad who came and I don’t think anyone would say when Amad came he was in the team on day one and this kid is going to be a superstar for Sunderland. It took a little bit of time for him to adapt.
“Ross Stewart, I think people would say it was probably six months into his journey here and that’s just people. Players are not robots. You cannot take a human and move them and expect them to perform exactly the same in a different environment. It’s on us to try and create the environment and it’s on them to try and step up and deliver in that environment.
“I’ve got faith the boys can keep getting better. Ultimately, what level they can get to will be determined by all those factors, won’t it? We tried to do the best we can with the information we’ve got to make the best judgements and selections.”
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The arrival of Mundle as Clarke’s eventual replacement when he leaves, however, seems to make more sense than some of those forward additions last summer from the outset. Mundle falls into a similar category of the likes of Clarke himself, Dan Ballard, Aji Alese and Dennis Cirkin to name but a few who have been primed in Premier League academy set-ups – Cirkin, like Clarke, from Tottenham whilst there is an argument for Niall Huggins who came through the same academy intake as Clarke at Thorp Arch with Leeds.
These are players who haven’t quite made the breakthrough from their respective academies but have potentially thrived out on loan before eventual deals elsewhere having been grounded from a high base – all prospering examples of how Speakman and co’s model can work.
At around a £2m outlay, Sunderland have shown faith in that they hope Mundle can follow on a similar trajectory as those mentioned and realise his potential at the Stadium of Light. The 20-year-old will gain first-team experience throughout the second half of the Championship season, having tested the waters in what he described as a ‘tough’ loan spell in Belgium’s Pro League with Standard Liege throughout the first half of the season.
“It feels surreal [to be here],” said Mundle. “I can’t wait to get started and develop as a player. For me it was a no-brainer – it’s a club with a lot of history and I thought this was the right move for me to succeed in my career.
“It was a very good experience and a very tough one as well,” he added on his six-month spell in Europe. “It came with lots of ups and downs, but it moulded me into the man I am now. It was my first season in professional football and showed me how I could cope with that – I learned a lot of lessons.
“The project and the fanbase, and the staff [at Sunderland], I couldn’t really say no. Sunderland is a massive club and for me and my development this was the right step.”
It already suggests Mundle is tapped into the mindset at the Stadium of Light portrayed by Speakman who believes the young winger has a bright future ahead of him.
“Talented players like Romaine are highly sought after and we saw this first hand in the summer when he left Tottenham Hotspur,” said Speakman.
“We didn’t anticipate him being available on a permanent basis, but when we sensed an opportunity, we moved quickly and decisively to make it happen - our ways of working and structure are a real strength in these moments.”
He continued: “Romaine is a player we’ve known about for some time - we were tracking him at Tottenham. I think when he suddenly made his decision to change and not sign with Tottenham [again] that got a lot of people alert and we were one of those clubs.
“We weren’t able to move on that in the summer, for various reasons, and then when we discovered that we might be able to potentially get him on loan, and that moved into the possibility of getting a permanent transaction, we were quick to try and make sure we could get that over the line because I think he’s a really, really talented young man.
“When we’ve seen him over previous years, predominantly in under-21s football admittedly, but even some of the stuff he’s done over in Belgium, we’re more than comfortable he can come over and be a positive part of our group.
“Romaine has not played a lot of football in terms of starting appearances, but he has been fully fit, training and came in and did his fitness tests so we know exactly where he is at.
“This is an important step in Romaine's career following a spell overseas and we look forward to helping him settle, as he makes Sunderland his new home. He’s got a bright future ahead of him as part of an exciting squad, and we look forward to working with him.”
But what are Sunderland getting from Mundle and can he go on to be the kind of replacement the club will need for Clarke in the future? We Are Sunderland takes a closer look at Mundle and what he brings to the Stadium of Light.
The heir to Jack Clarke’s throne?
“The benefit of planning is that you’re basically doing a pre-mortem on those things,” says Sunderland’s sporting director. “So, if someone calls about a particular player, it won’t be the first conversation internally we’ve had about that player.”
It was a response from Speakman regarding the possibility of Clarke leaving the club last summer and one which will, likely, continue to roll on over the course of the next six months after the club were able to hold onto their prized asset in January. It seems a little premature to suggest Mundle will immediately be able to fill the boots that Clarke will eventually leave at the Stadium of Light, but that will be the task the 20-year-old is faced with over the course of his time on Wearside.
The club handed Mundle a four-and-a-half-year deal which represents an immediate trust and faith being put into the winger who was included in Michael Beale’s squad for the first time in the Tees-Wear draw with Middlesbrough at the Riverside. Although an unused substitute, Mundle gained experience of the first-team environment at Sunderland before going on to feature for the club’s under-21s in their Premier League Cup success over Bristol City.
"I think the sports scientists will look at Romaine’s load before he came here," explained John Hewitson, assistant boss for Sunderland's Under-21s. "It’s just a case of they’ll track what he’s done. His plan was to play 60 minutes just to get him up to speed and then progress him from there.
"I haven’t seen him in training, but he showed glimpses and was exciting. He looks quick, he looks direct, he looks quite jinky. I’m looking forward to seeing more of him really."
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Those are attributes that will appeal, but Mundle’s experience in the men’s game is limited despite his recent journey to Belgium. But Mundle should take credit for chancing his luck in the Pro League last summer despite being offered a contract to remain in North London until 2025.
Mundle had been part of Tottenham’s pre-season schedule under Nuno Espirito Santo in 2021 before returning to the academy set-up and was also called up to first-team training by the Portuguese’ replacement, Antonio Conte, last season.
Mundle’s impression in the club’s academy system, which included competing in the UEFA Youth League, earned him recognition both domestically and abroad, with Anderlecht another Belgian side keen on landing his services. But it was Standard Liege who won the race for his signature, following the appointment of former Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure as the club’s assistant manager.
Toure and Mundle were familiar with one another after the three-time Premier League winner became involved in Tottenham’s youth set-up in 2022, initially part of the club’s under-18 programme before dropping down to under-16s level. But with the Ivorian keen to learn his trade in the dugout, he moved to Belgium last summer to worker under Carl Hoefkens, with Mundle agreeing a deal at the Stade Maurice Dufrasne soon after in a move which ended a 15-year association with Tottenham.
Mundle may have drawn inspiration from the likes of Jude Bellingham, Jadon Sancho, Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Timori, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Reece Oxford to name a variety of players who have, at different stages of their careers, taken the leap of faith in developing further across Europe’s top five leagues.
But did Mundle show us anything from his time in Belgium?
It’s a little tricky to navigate given his lack out outright game time for Standard Liege over the course of the last six months, with Mundle making just seven substitute appearances for the Belgian side’s first team as well as four appearances in the Challenger Pro League for the club’s reserve squad.
Of those seven appearances in the Pro League, Mundle ranked 13th at the time of his sale when it comes to progressive passes received with 20 which, considering his lack of game time, isn’t a bad statistic and demonstrates he occupies good areas of the field. For context, 11 of the players who had played more than Mundle were below him.
When it comes to progressive carries, Mundle recorded six in the 150 minutes of game time as per Fbref.
These are two stats we are focusing on given how dominant Clarke has been in those categories for Sunderland this season with 248 progressive carries, the highest by some margin in the Championship, and 319 progressive passes received - Patrick Roberts the closest to Clarke in each category in Sunderland’s squad with 100 and 169 respectively.
Again, Mundle’s numbers are considerably lower than these figures, naturally. But, hypothetically, if Mundle were to perform at a similar rate in each category over the same 2,655 minutes of game time Clarke has recorded, almost 18-times as much as per Fbref following the 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough, the 20-year-old would potentially rank higher than Clarke in terms of progressive passes received (354) and would rank second behind Clarke in progressive carries (106).
And you can see attributes similar to Clarke in the way Mundle plays. Take the example below when coming on in Standard Liege’s 1-0 defeat to Cercle Brugge in August. Mundle picks up possession in a wide left area, knowing there is space to attack in behind the full-back who he draws towards him by threatening to cut inside on his right foot like we see from the modern inverted winger. A quick shift of feet beats the defender and opens up the space down the line, forcing the right-sided centre-back and covering defensive midfielder to drop in to try and clear the danger as Mundle gets a cross in with his left foot.
What will encourage supporters is that Mundle has occupied both flanks during his time in Belgium.
Although, like Clarke, he appears more natural at cutting in from the left and striking with his right, Mundle has operated from the right which would help provide more natural width as shown below in a cup tie with Harelbeke. Mundle’s ability to go either side gives the left full-back a problem albeit, on this occasion, he ends up reading the situation well after Mundle heads to the byline with a blocked cross.
And it’s not just one-against-one scenarios where Mundle will trust his ability on the right, as can be seen below when attacking three Cercle Brugge players having identified a pocket of space in behind.
Clarke’s goal contributions this season have been instrumental in Sunderland being able to mount a significant play-off push and, although Mundle did not register any goal contributions for Standard Liege’s first team, the attributes are again evident to suggest that could come.
Take Clarke’s irrepressible assist for Rusyn in the 2-0 win over Preston North End on New Year’s Day, for example. The winger was the target of a swift counter-attack and was able to ride a cynical challenge on halfway to drive into the box and cross for Rusyn to slide in Sunderland’s second of the game.
In the pictures below, against Cercle Brugge, Mundle almost carries out a very similar assist for Liege where a ball is played beyond Brugge’s midfield press into a wide area for Mundle to run onto. Mundle’s pace sees him reach the ball just ahead of the defender, who has committed to the ball, and allows him to knock the ball into the empty space in the Brugge half, knowing his pace will likely give him the advantage, similar to what we saw from Clarke.
Mundle is eventually taken out for a foul at the last moment before he is able to drive into the area but it represents what kind of a threat he could be on the break in those situations.
That desire to use his pace by knocking the ball past an opponent and accelerating into the space is a trait Mundle appears to favour – another example shown below in the game with Royal Union Saint-Gilloise where he beats his full-back only for his team-mate to stifle the attack when trying to take the ball from Mundle in an offside position.
Mundle will need to be more streetwise with that trait at times, however, as defenders can latch on quite easily when the space in behind is not as open, as seen in the game with Sint-Truiden where Eric Junior Bocat was able to nullify Mundle’s threat.
Interestingly, when analysing Mundle’s footage with Standard Liege - particularly when operating from the right wing, there can sometimes be a tendency to drift in-field into more central areas – something we have seen from Sunderland in recent weeks under Beale in the absence of Roberts, with the likes of Alex Pritchard, prior to his exit, and Jobe Bellingham.
In the example below against Sint-Truiden, Mundle moves into a central striking position almost, with Liege’s front four extremely narrow from the centre to the left-hand-side of the pitch in front of a compact back four.
Mundle has found a lot of space between the thirds here which allows full-back Marlon Joseph Fossey plenty of grass to run into in front of him. Should Mundle operate on the right for Sunderland ahead of Trai Hume, a scenario such as this one could provide the opportunity for overloads on the right of the field.
On this occasion Mundle refuses the option of Fossey when going for goal – the option to play Fossey in, perhaps, the better alternative in this case, although the confidence to strike from distance is also something Sunderland would likely welcome.
We have already briefly considered Mundle’s ability to draw defenders in before exploiting the space in behind them, and that is something which naturally draws the attention of defenders. Clarke, for example, has routinely been doubled up on by defences this season and, at times, even beyond that.
Given Clarke’s importance, we have seen times where he draws multiple defenders into his area of the field in an attempt to nullify his threats and the example below shows how Mundle has sometimes been given the same treatment in Belgium. The example below shows how Mundle has drawn in the right-back but still has as many as three other white [Hertha Berlin] shirts around him beyond that.
As Mundle gets into the penalty area he still has three opposition players to deal with who are trying to crowd him out.
The ability of the winger to draw a number of opposition players in is most beneficial, particularly in and around the penalty area, as it should, in theory, create space for another team-mate.
Take the example below, for example, where Mundle, featuring for Tottenham’s under-21s against Peterborough United in the EFL Trophy in September 2022, has alerted the attention of as many as four Peterborough defenders inside the penalty area which has created space on the edge of the area for Yago Santiago (58) and George Abbott (77), who is just out of shot before eventually being the one to receive the ball and fire off target.
But it’s not just on the ball where Mundle will need to be a threat for Sunderland, and there have been glimpses of his ability to spot potentially dangerous situations in an attacking sense by making prominent, timely runs.
These key runs are significant whether the ball comes Mundle’s way or not as they, again, occupy space and defenders but they also show his pace in closer examination.
Take this example against Harelbeke where, despite the ball being in possession in a tight pocket of space on the left of the field, Mundle is alert to the clear space in front of him and is already driving into that area of the field to make himself an option, should the ball be released from the left of the field.
As you can see, Mundle’s run is well picked out and his pace has drawn two defenders out wide to deal with him which allows almost a two-on-two scenario in the centre of the field.
It’s a trait Mundle has been switched on with since his time with Tottenham as part of Wayne Burnett’s under-21s squad as shown in the EFL Trophy tie with Stevenage below.
As soon as a ball falls loose in the midfield area following a turnover in possession by the home side, Mundle has already sensed the space where he can be a threat for his team before Kallum Cesay even picks up possession.
And it’s not just wide areas where Mundle has demonstrated intelligent runs, as can be seen from Tottenham’s under-19s UEFA Youth League tie with Frankfurt. Here, you can see Santiago in possession in midfield as Mundle makes a smart run across the centre-backs which creates space in his starting position on the left wing for a potential overload down that side of the field – the kind of selfless runs which benefit any team.
There’s no denying Sunderland are buying potential in Mundle, the 20-year-old still with plenty to develop in his game. And one of those areas is likely to be his crossing output.
Beale has questioned the attacking construction of Sunderland in recent weeks and whether his team are creating enough opportunities for their strikers or whether there is a tendency to overplay in certain situations. One way around that is through crossing, but while Mundle, in his relatively short first-team experience, has demonstrated his ability to beat a man and create a crossing angle, the end product has not quite been their yet.
Prior to his exit, Mundle was ranked 38th in the Pro League for average number of crosses per 90 minutes with 1.99 – Clarke ranking 17th in the Championship with 3.95 crosses per 90 minutes, with the winger second for total crosses in the division with 128, as per Wyscout. Clarke’s accuracy is rated at 28.4 per cent over his total number of crosses whereas Mundle’s accuracy is rated at zero.
With Sunderland’s struggles in front of goal from central areas, that accuracy is something which will need to improve from Mundle. And we can see some scenarios below where the 20-year-old has just lacked that element of composure to complete his cross successfully. The first image against Kortrijk shows Mundle getting to the byline to try and beat his man where his cross is blocked but the opportunity to cross might have been better moments earlier where there was a bigger space.
Another example came in the game against Harelbeke where Mundle has space to drive into on the right but, instead, opts for a more difficult cross from a slightly deeper position with only one team-mate potentially able to hit up against four opposition players.
And an example of Mundle as an inverted winger from a short corner routine also shows a weak delivery, despite creating the angle, where his cross is too flat and headed away easily by Maxim De Cuyper as the first line of defence, despite six team-mates in the area. Mundle is, however, a regular set piece taker from both sides from his time with Tottenham and brief spell with Standard Liege which provides Sunderland with another alternative in that department.
There have certainly been indicators during Mundle’s brief time in Belgium that, with further experience, he will develop into a player of potential and a big asset to Sunderland – that despite his lack of numbers in terms of outright goals and assists.
Similar to Roberts, who has also struggled this season with outright goals and assists, Mundle may be able to bring something different in being able to help Sunderland get up the field and turning defenders towards their own goal.
With that said, Mundle did score twice for Standard Liege II, the club’s reserve team, during his time, with both goals showing the raw potential of his threat in terms of his positional awareness on the break, his pace and his ability to dribble inside from the left.
Mundle started four games for SL16, but it was the win over KMSK Deinze that stood out, with the winger scoring both goals in a 2-1 success.
The first goal is an example of Mundle putting together the counter-attack we saw earlier where he peels off into space on the left for a direct ball into an area where he can test his defender for pace. As you can see in the image below, Brahim Ghalidi picks up the ball in the deep-lying midfield position on the half-turn and angles a diagonal ball out to the left over the top of the defender.
Mundle is beyond the full-back and is able to meet the ball ahead of the covering centre-back inside the area. Here, the winger has a decision to make as to whether he searches for the support from his team-mates – Soufiane Benjdida in this instance – or whether he can manufacture an attempt at goal himself.
Benjdida makes a quite clever run towards the back post which takes the left-sided centre-back slightly away from his position to create more space in the area, should Mundle be able to manipulate it. The midfield recovery runs from Deinze are not quick enough which means Mundle has space between the defence and midfield lines and has already shown he can beat his centre-back for pace.
With that in mind, Mundle skips inside and fires towards the bottom corner and finishes well.
Ghalidi and Mundle link again for Mundle’s second of the game but it’s Mundle’s first line of press which enables the opportunity.
As you can see, Mundle gives former Hearts defender Denis Prychynenko something to think about on halfway by chasing down a relatively loose ball from a Deinze attack. Prychynenko slides in to meet the ball ahead of Mundle but, in turn, gives possession away to Ghalidi. And with Prychynenko on the ground, it leaves plenty of space for Mundle to exploit in behind, something he is alert to as soon as Ghalidi gains possession.
It’s then about how long Ghalidi delays the pass, given the space in front of him. The midfielder plays a smart ball into the space in the right-back area for Mundle to attack. Mundle takes three touches to drive into the area where, to his credit, Prychynenko has recovered quite well.
But the defender is relatively off balance given his momentum in trying to recover and Mundle is able to cut inside and again find the bottom corner with a fine finish – not too dissimilar to the goal we saw from Clarke against Hull City on Boxing Day.
But we can look back at Mundle’s time at Tottenham for further examples of how he began to show signs of encouragement when it comes to his end product. In his last nine appearances for Tottenham’s academy side he made 10 goal contributions, with six goals and four assists – the kind of numbers which, as Speakman suggested, made a number of clubs sit up and take notice.
Two of the goals we look at here show a different side to Mundle in terms of his long-range shooting and his ability to force turnovers with his defending from the front.
Mundle scored twice in Spurs’ 3-1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion but the pick of the bunch was a strike from distance where he cuts inside from the left and finds the top corner from distance – again showing confidence when it comes to taking a strike at goal.
Mundle’s penultimate goal for Tottenham came in a 3-2 win over Chelsea under-21s where he provided both a goal and an assist. But the goal, in particular, was promising in how, from a right-wing position, he puts defender Lewis Hall, now with Newcastle United, under pressure before winning possession in a key area and driving into the area.
Mundle has the option of cutting back to a team-mate but remains laser-focused on getting his shot away at the near post and converts well.
The financial troubles of Standard Liege have allowed Sunderland an opportunity to bring in another player with a potentially high ceiling – how quickly he gets there will depend on a variety of things. But Beale, himself, is excited by the prospect of Mundle being in his starting line-up. The Sunderland head coach took all three of the club’s January recruits for dinner recently to gain a greater understanding of the types of personalities being brought into the club.
With regards to Mundle, that personality will be key given the expectancy surrounding him being a potential successor to Clarke – although that is not necessarily the way Beale sees the 20-year-old.
“Jack has been so strong on that side of the pitch – there’s a bus queue of players we’d like to play there; Abdoullah [Ba], if you asked him, would like to play there and certainly Romaine - Adil [Aouchiche] can play there for example as well, so we’re not short of people wanting to play on the left coming in on their right foot,” Beale told We Are Sunderland.
“He’s surprised me. He hasn’t played much football, so I was thinking maybe it would take him some time, but having watched him in training over the last couple of days, I think he’s got a completely different intention in that he wants to play and he wants to play now.
“His training is really sharp. His first impression to his team-mates has been really good. I saw the game [against Bristol City under-21s] and I thought he showed a little bit of what he can bring; he’s really quick.
“We prefer to play from the left but I think he can also play through the middle and on the right as well. We’re going to need to come up with a few things between now and the end of the season that surprises opponents and he’s another one who comes into that.”
Beale continued: “What we’re really good at as a club is giving young players an opportunity. What we’ve got to ask for in return is a lot of responsibility in terms of the way the player trains, the way he lives his life, the way he gives positivity to the environment.
“I don’t want anyone to feel like they’re a replacement because he’s not the same type of player as Jack, he’s more explosive and much more of a runner off the ball for example. What you would lose in one, you would gain in another, but let’s not talk about losing Jack Clarke just yet – I’m glad that window is closed and he’s here.
"I would like to think they can play together and that’s the challenge to all of our attacking players; can we find the right balance defensively so we can play all of you guys together? It sounds great, doesn't it?"
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