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Unseen Sunderland signing scores winning goal in midweek international clash
Sunderland summer signing Milan Aleksic scored the winning goal in Serbia U21s’ 1-0 win over Ukraine on Tuesday evening.
The midfielder is still yet to feature for the first team on Wearside, but has been named in a number of match day squads by Regis Le Bris, and has jetted off to represent his country in each of this season’s international breaks thus far. Last month, he was an unused substitute for Serbia’s senior side, but this time around, he has made an impact with a decisive strike in an U21 European Championship qualifier.
Aleksic’s goal came partway through the first half, and after the 19-year-old had forced an error from Ukraine’s back line with a burst of high pressure. He then latched on to a pass from Jovan Mijatovic to coolly slot home.
Despite the patience with which Aleksic is being introduced into the first team picture at the Stadium of Light, hopes are high for his eventual impact on Wearside. Speaking last month, Sunderland head coach Le Bris said: “Milan is very young, talented, still discovering Sunderland and the league. But he has a lot of good qualities as a midfielder, an offensive midfielder I think. He can be creative, the ability to link with short passes and I think the ability to shoot and score from outside the box. He’s a really interesting player.”
Aleksic also made an appearance for Sunderland U21s recently, with academy coach Graeme Murty outlining the plan for the teenager moving forward. He said: “We want to see more of him. We want to give him a platform to go on and play, along with all the first team players.
“We keep on saying that we are a willing vehicle for those guys to get in the minutes to get an understanding, to get match fit, to get sharper. We also want to make sure that our young players get the opportunity to play alongside them and show how well they can do.”
Sunderland U21s coach Graeme Murty has delivered a glowing verdict on new striker Aaron Connolly following his brace against Huddersfield Town on Tuesday.
The Irishman signed for the Black Cats as a free agent last month, but is still yet to make his first team debut on Wearside. He has, however, registered two outings for Murty’s development side, scoring three goals in a little over 100 minutes of action.
Connolly’s pair of strikes against the Terriers helped Sunderland to a 3-2 victory in Yorkshire, and after the final whistle Murty was quick to hail the centre forward for both his quality and his application. He said: “He’s been really good with the group and to work with. He’s really good at making sure he’s vocal and communicates with the young players.
