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Sunderland move is the right one for Yedlin

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by MATTHEW LEVINE

As the fog from the international window descends, the real work at the club level begins. For DeAndre Yedlin, that means rolling up his sleeves and digging in with his new home, Sunderland.

The young defender – and midfielder – is set to feel pressure he hasn’t felt before in his young career, especially if recent trends for the Black Cats continue. It’ll be the pressure not of trying to lift the team to trophies, but to avoid the drop to the Championship from the Premier League.

Sunderland has just been able to scrape its way above the relegation heap the last few years, finishing 17th (2012-13), 14th (2013-14), and 16th (2014-15). The club currently sits in last place with two points from their first four games.

With all that said, it may not be the worst thing for the U.S. men’s national teamer. A relegation battle would test Yedlin’s resolve, his grit, and his nerves under the utmost of pressure cookers – and it’s the type of pressure U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann keeps clamoring for from his players.

The 22-year-old was always going to find it difficult to break into the Tottenham squad, drawing questions if the bright lights and glitz of the Premier League shone too brightly, keeping Yedlin from making a wiser decision on his destination to next take the next step.

At Sunderland, Yedlin won’t find it necessarily easy to break into the team, either. But that’s where he can put his fighting spirit to the test off the bat. Can he push Patrick van Aanholt for a place at left back? Can he take minutes from wingers such as Adam Johnson and Jeremain Lens?

If the team was in a more fruitful position, manager Dick Advocaat may take a “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it” approach, but even in the early stages, most likely there will be plenty of fixes needed in Sunderland’s campaign.

Working under Advocaat could be another success for Yedlin as he will be pushed tactically by the Dutch coach.

However, many may feel it’s an adverse situation for the defender, and will only need to point to Jozy Altidore’s spell on Wearside as the first testimonial.

The situation, though, is an apple to orange comparison. Altidore was a striker with a big (for Sunderland) price tag, expected to replicate his goalscoring barrage in the Netherlands. From the start, things didn’t click – entering a team that was coached by Paolo Di Canio was always a risk – and Altidore eventually lost confidence in front of goal despite the brave front he put on and the trust of Di Canio’s successor, Gus Poyet.

Yedlin is a young player, on a loan from Tottenham, and that alone comes with much different expectations. His versatility should also help him get meaningful minutes on the pitch for the Black Cats.

For it to be a successful campaign with Sunderland, Yedlin will have to navigate his first full season in England and the ups and downs that come with playing in the Premier League. He’ll have to deal with the different pace and physical element. He’ll have to deal with players whose transfer prices would make your head spin and he’ll even have the fiery Tyne-Wear derby against Newcastle.

Most importantly, he’ll have to deal with a relegation dogfight.

But if Yedlin can come out the other side not worse for wear, he won’t just be the young U.S national team player with dizzying speed, but he’ll become a battle-tested man. And that result would be the perfect solution for him, the national team, and Tottenham.


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