Despite picking up all three points, Sunderland were disappointed with their overall performance against Torreense in the Europa League on Thursday night.
Second-half goals from Jules Ahoka and Noah Sadiki helped the Black Cats to a 1-0 victory with a 93rd-minute goal.
Many of Regis Le Bris’ players failed to step up against the second-tier Portuguese outfit, meaning the midfielders had to step up to the goals.
One of the players who didn’t get enough game time was right-back Nilsson Angulo, but the Black Cats shouldn’t give up on him just yet.
Why Sunderland shouldn’t give up on Nilsson Angulo just yet
In the match against “Torreense” in 58 minutes, the Ecuadorian international missed a “big chance” with his head and could not create any chances for his teammates.
That performance came after he failed six of his seven dribble attempts and created no chances for 73 minutes in last weekend’s 2-0 Premier League loss to Brighton.
As frustrating as his recent outings have been, Angulo is a player worth pursuing as he has shown flashes of quality in the league this season, scoring against Ipswich and assisting against Manchester City.
26/27 Premier League | Nilson Angulo |
|---|---|
Appearances | 6 |
xG | 0.60 |
Objectives | 1 |
Great chances were created | 1 |
helps | 1 |
Successful dribbles in every game | 1.3 |
Tackle + interceptions per game | 1.9 |
Before joining Sunderland earlier this year, the forward scored six goals and provided five assists in 22 Pro League appearances for Anderlecht in the 2025/26 season.
Although Le Bris will have to let the winger go in the short term after recent displays, they should keep faith in the youngster in the long term as he has the potential to become a star for the club.
Sell before Angulo: Nobody’s talking about the Sunderland flop
While Angulo may still have a long-term future at the Stadium of Light, one of his Ecuador teammates may not have such a bright future on Wearside.
Trai Hume started on the right wing, supported Angulo on the right wing, faced Torreense and produced a disappointing performance for the Black Cats.
The experienced Northern Ireland international, who has been at the club since January 2022, left the field after losing three of his four ground duels and failing six of his nine pass attempts.
He struggled offensively as the defender failed to create any “big chances” for the team, while defensively he committed two fouls and was dribbled once.
No one is talking about how low Hume’s contributions were because the heat was on attacking players like Angulo, Malik Fofana and Chris Rigg.
The Sunderland defender, a £20million transfer target for Everton in the summer, has been used at right-back and right-back in the Premier League but has not offered enough to the team in possession.
26/26 Premier League | Trai Hume | Rate vs. RMs |
|---|---|---|
king | 0.31 | bottom 30% |
Transition accuracy | 73.6% | down 16% |
Long pass accuracy | 16.7% | down 16% |
Chances were created | 4 | bottom 30% |
helps | 0 | bottom 1% |
Objectives | 0 | bottom 1% |
Hume’s use of the ball has not been up to par, especially compared to his positional peers, which was the case in the top flight last season.
The 24-year-old star completed just 75% of his passes in 38 games in the division and created one ‘big chance’ and one assist.
Nordi Mukiele and Thomas Meunier are now available as right-back options for Sunderland, which means Hume is switching between right-back and right-midfield.
Unfortunately, the long-serving defender hasn’t been good enough with the ball at his feet to justify continued minutes on the pitch, so the club may have to consider his future at the Stadium of Light.
Sunderland could sign a specialist right-sided striker in January to go with Mukiele and Meunier as their first-choice options at right-back and avoid having to play a full-back in that role.
That would open the door for Hume, who has interest from Everton in the summer, and move away from Wearside, which would see him sold before Angulo.