Since arriving at the club at the end of August, Tony Mowbray has enjoyed a strong season in charge of Sunderland has them competing for a place in the top half of the table.
They are currently 11th in the Championship and six points off the play-off places with 11 matches still to play and the ex-Blackburn boss has made his side an exciting team to watch for the most part.
Has Tony Mowbray been a good appointment?
Mowbray has made a number of excellent decisions since taking over from Alex Neil and one of them has been to utilise Trai Hume as his first-choice at right-back.
The Black Cats manager has struck gold with the 20-year-old enforcer as the gem’s value has soared since his initial move to the club at the start of 2022.
How much is Trai Hume worth?
He was signed from Northern Irish side Linfield for a fee in the region of £200k in the January transfer window of the 2021/22 campaign, amid competition from Celtic and Stoke City.
At the time of writing [10/03/2023], FootballTransfers places his Expected Transfer Value at £619k (€700k) and this means that his potential price has soared by 210% from the £200k they paid to sign him last year.
It has not been an easy ride for the warrior, though. Lee Johnson worked with Kristjaan Speakman to bring the young defender to the Stadium of Light but was soon replaced in the dugout by Scottish coach Neil, who then rarely used Hume.
In League One, the right-back only made three appearances for Sunderland – winning 71% of his duels and making 3.7 tackles and interceptions per match – as the club went on to be promoted via the play-offs.
At the start of this season, Hume only made two substitute outings in the Championship for Neil and his Black Cats career did not appear to be heading in the right direction.
However, Mowbray’s arrival changed everything for the Northern Irish gem as the full-back has gone on to start 12 matches in the division for the current head coach this term.
The youngster, who journalist Josh Bunting hailed as “immense“, has now featured in 17 games in total in the league and averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.88, which places him eighth in the squad.
He has won 53% of his duels and made 3.3 tackles and interceptions per match, with no player in the team making more tackles per game, and this indicates that the ace has been a solid operator at the back for the club.
His excellent form in the Championship has been reflected in the aforementioned rise in the gem’s value and shows that Mowbray has struck gold by making him a regular fixture in the side, which is something Neil was reluctant to do.
