Bellingham’s Ban: Sunderland’s Midfield Options as Depth Faces a Test

There are no easy games in the Championship — we found this out down at Plymouth, and we found out again on Saturday!

The fact that QPR managed to take a point and a clean sheet at Burnley last week signalled they aren’t exactly pushovers, and I was genuinely impressed with them on Saturday. While clearly lacking up top, they worked hard both in and out of possession, looked organised, and had some canny players—Varane, the central midfielder, is someone I’ll keep an eye on; he was outstanding.

There’s no shame in leaving Loftus Road with a point, even if deep down we all felt we should have gone there for a win. Any away point is valuable, and as Luke O’Nien pointed out after the game, they could prove crucial come season’s end.

Had we finished with eleven men, I might not be as content with the result, but with a sending-off and a fair chunk of time left on the clock, the game could easily have gone south for us. Credit to Régis Le Bris and his players for standing firm, staying organised, and respecting the draw.

The biggest concern from Saturday is that we now have to cope without Jobe Bellingham for three games. In my view, he’s been our best player so far this season. He was the best player on the pitch up to his sending-off too, and we felt his absence for the rest of the game. His ability to control play and dictate tempo will be a big miss, as will his physicality in duels. Someone else now needs to step up.

It was good to hear from Reg that Chris Rigg is fine and back in training this week, though there was no clarity on whether he’ll feature on Wednesday at Preston. Fingers crossed he does, and we get a straight swap bringing Riggy in for Jobe. If not, this challenge presents Sunderland’s head coach with some choices.

I doubt he’d admit this publicly, but I think he rather enjoys dealing with curveballs like this. No doubt he spent his Sunday strategising his next moves as we gear up to face the Lilywhites at Deepdale.

Could Milan Aleksic be handed his first start in a Sunderland shirt? He’s untried, but we spent a decent sum on him over the summer for a reason—clearly, the lad has talent. Whether he’s fully ready remains to be seen, but this could be his big moment.

There’s also Harrison Jones, who’s been outstanding for the U21s for two seasons now and a virtual ever-present on the first-team bench this season. He’s bound to get his shot eventually, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Le Bris opted to give him a go here.

The U21s battered Manchester United 5-2 on Saturday, with both Adil Aouchiche and Abdoullah Ba heavily involved. So, while they’re on the periphery, this might be the chance for one or both to prove their worth. Martin made a great point on this weekend’s podcast, suggesting we likely wanted them to get minutes against United rather than travel to QPR, so they’re match-ready for this week. With Bellingham’s suspension, their inclusion seems even more likely.

Other options could include reworking the forward line—bringing in Aaron Connolly or Eliezer Mayenda and moving Wilson Isidor into an attacking midfield role. We could split the defence to get Trai Hume or Luke O’Nien into midfield (though I’m not a fan of this approach) or even switch to a back three.

It’s far from ideal, but there’s something about tackling these tricky situations that excites me. I’m eager to see how we adapt to losing one, possibly two, of our most critical players.

This could well be the making of another new star in red and white!