Tuesday 24 November 2015 11:40, UK
Can Sunderland's Duncan Watmore be the Premier League's next breakout star from non-league?
Coventry boss Tony Mowbray told Sky Sports this week that his club are fielding more calls than ever from agents pushing players from way down the football pyramid following Jamie Vardy's heroics at Leicester. Mowbray acknowledged that they could no longer be dismissed out of hand. Vardy's success is changing perceptions about the talent pool in the non-league game.
Now Sunderland's Duncan Watmore is hinting that Vardy may not be the only former non-league forward to shine in the Premier League this season. Signed from Altrincham in 2013, he has already made an impact for his country, winning a penalty, scoring a goal and providing an assist in the England U21 side's 3-1 victory over Switzerland last week. Not bad given that he was only on the pitch for the final 15 minutes.
Watmore was given half an hour to show what he could do for Sunderland at Crystal Palace on Monday. Once again, it was more than enough to turn the game in his side's favour. Jermain Defoe scored the winning goal after a mix-up in the Palace defence but it was Watmore's urgency that helped alter the flow of the contest - a point recognised by England coach Gary Neville in the Sky Sports studio.
"He made a big impact when he came on, I have to say," Neville told Monday Night Football afterwards. "He has work-rate, energy, enthusiasm - everything that you'd want from a young player and he provided a welcome injection of pace and running ability that Sunderland needed in that last part of the game."
Undoubtedly, there is a directness to his approach that troubles defences. Many have likened him to a young James Milner, although Defoe says he reminds him of Andros Townsend. Spanish television went with the more flattering comparison with Chelsea winger Pedro on Monday. Whatever the preference, it's obvious that he gives Sunderland something that is sorely lacking in his absence.
Watmore's exuberance was infectious. He covered 4.56 kilometres in his 30-minute outing at Selhurst Park - with the greatest average speed of anyone on the pitch - and completed four dribbles. That tally was not only more than any of his team-mates on the night, but, remarkably, also more than any Sunderland player has managed in a full game so far this season.
Indeed, Watmore is averaging 4.6 completed dribbles per 90 minutes in 2015/16. That puts him among the top three in the Premier League, among players with more than half a dozen dribbles to their name this term. However, what is perhaps more pertinent is that there is no other Sunderland player averaging two of them in a game. Sam Allardyce will surely be counting on him.
"It's a good alternative for me," said the Black Cats boss. "He's got that natural turn and that natural ability to get past a player and then go beyond him because he's got pace to get away from people." Just as significant was his description of Watmore as "a bright young man with a sensible head on his shoulders" when the 21-year-old agreed a new four-and-a-half-year contract at the weekend.
This praise of Watmore's character is already a recurring theme. His former chairman at Altrincham, Grahame Rowley, believes he's "an intelligent and grounded young man", England U20 coach Aidy Boothroyd described the youngster as "a lovely lad" after seeing him shine in Toulon and the U21 boss Gareth Southgate feels he's "a great kid to work with" as well.
All the signs are there is a willingness to learn that is beyond what is normal. Having completed a first-class degree in economics and business management at Newcastle University in the summer, perhaps that isn't particularly surprising. But it does help to explain why Watmore has been able to overcome every challenge put in front of him so far in his fledgling career.
Released by Manchester United as a boy, he thrived at Altrincham in precisely the sort of environment some academies are desperate to ensure their young talent avoid. Altrincham boss Lee Sinnott, who once played in an FA Cup final for Watford, was careful to manage his progress but was acutely aware that the young Watmore had qualities not seen too often in the Conference North.
"There are plenty of target men, number nines, and players who play off number nines," said Sinnott at the time. "But there are not many players who run with the ball like Duncan does. His runs are meandering, they aren't straight and they are always asking questions of defenders, it's a flowing curved run and for defenders that is hard to handle."
Sold to Sunderland for £100,000 in May 2013, opportunities were limited under both Paolo Di Canio and Gus Poyet but Watmore kept learning and Dick Advocaat began to involve him more as he continued to impress for the club's reserves - he was even named as the player of the year for the entire U21 Premier League last season.
"He's a special player," said Sunderland coach Robbie Stockdale after Watmore received that award. "The really exciting thing is that he still has some way to go. He's a bit of a throwback, he plays with no fear and he has pace in abundance, but there are things to work on and he understands that, so hopefully he will kick on next year."
That's a sentiment shared by Allardyce. "He'll get better, hopefully," he told Sky Sports on Monday. Given that Watmore clearly has an attitude that precipitates success, that would seem inevitable. And with seven years on Vardy, the scope for improvement is vast. The Premier League's latest non-league success story might well be upon us.
