Bournemouth loanee Chris Mepham has already made a big impression on loan at Sunderland
Régis Le Bris says it is too early to think about Chris Mepham’s long-term future at the club but has underlined his admiration for the Bournemouth loanee.
Mepham produced arguably his best performance yet since joining Sunderland on deadline day in the 1-0 win over Hull City, and has almost immediately won over the club’s fanbase. Le Bris says he is not concerned at this stage about Mepham’s future but says the 26-year-old’s quality is obvious and praised the impact he has already made both on and off the pitch.
“I understand why people will want to talk about his future, but that is not my main concern at the minute,” Le Bris said.
“It will be important at some point, but the most important thing at the minute is developing the link with the player and working on the performance. Then, we will see what happens. At the moment, it is too early to be thinking about the future, although we can definitely see and feel his performance and his level. The way he connects with the other players is important. You can sense his maturity, and that makes it so easy for the others to play with him. For me, it is a gift to have him here.”
Alongside Alan Browne, Mepham has added some important Championship and football experience to the squad this summer and Le Bris says his impact has been considerable.
“It is a question of balance.” he said.
“If you have too many young players, you know they will be inexperienced. But then if you have too many experienced players, especially on loan, while you probably know they will be effective, you won’t develop a squad with shared values and grow the club. It is a question of balance, and I think we did well during this (summer) transfer window. We got the balance right, I think, and a player like Chris Mepham is so important.
“He is important for the performance of the team, but he is also so important here, in the meeting room. When we are analysing a game, and pointing out mistakes, Chris Mepham is the first to put his hand up and say, ‘Okay, I did that wrong. It was my fault. No worries, I will correct that point in the future’. That is so powerful for the others to see. If one of our best players can speak like that in front of the group, then the younger players see that and think it is okay for them to be honest and open too. That is the atmosphere I want to create, a learning environment.”
Mepham will retain his place at the heart of the Sunderland defence at Luton Town on Wednesday night with Dan Ballard still recovering from an ankle problem. Ballard is expected to return to the squad next weekend at QPR.
Leave a Reply