Having already acquired Sebastian Coates from Liverpool, Sunderland continued to strengthen in defensive areas with the acquisition of Celtic right-back Adam Matthews on a four-year deal. Speaking to the club’s official site, the 23-year-old was delighted to team up with the Black Cats:
“It’s been very exciting. It happened really quickly which has been a bit of a shock. Playing in the Barclays Premier League and in front of great fans and in a big stadium is something I’m looking forward to. Obviously, at Celtic I played in front of massive crowds and I’m sure they’ll be just as good if not better here so I’m really looking forward to it.”
The History
Born in Wales, Matthews broke his arm during a trial with Swansea City only to discover that their youth set-up had filled their quota by the time he’d recovered. He turned instead to rivals Cardiff City, joining their academy at the age of eight.
The defender penned a professional contract with the Bluebirds in 2009, before making his senior debut in a 1-1 draw against Blackpool at the start of the 2009/10 Championship season. Injuries elsewhere in the squad afforded the young right-back a couple of starts, with his performances in those fixtures convincing manager Dave Jones to select him on a regular basis. Such was his impressive emergence, Matthews courted interest from Manchester United and was named as the Football League Apprentice of the Year.
Kevin McNaughton reclaimed his starting berth the following season, restricting Matthews to just two starts. Nonetheless, the Wales international earned a move to Celtic in the summer of 2011 and went on to record 27 appearances in his debut campaign for the Hoops. Despite missing 11 matches through injury the following season, Matthews tallied an eye-catching two goals and eight assists in just 22 appearances. He continued to exhibit a propensity for attacking returns in a further two injury-hit seasons, registering two goals and 12 assists in 52 appearances across the 2013/14 and 2014/15 campaigns.
Matthews received a handful of caps for the Wales U17, U19 and U21 outfits, before making his senior debut against Scotland in May 2011. He’s made a further 11 appearances for the Dragons since that date but has yet to register a goal.
The Prospects
Matthews’ arrival on Wearside places question marks over the pitch time of Billy Jones for the Black Cats. Having seen off the challenge of Anthony Reveillere, Jones started each of the final eight matches in 2014/15 at right-back, but the former Baggies defender now faces strong competition for a regular start in 2015/16.
Matthews may take his time to settle, though, after conceding that Dick Advocaat is determined to improve the defensive aspect of his game:
“He (Advocaat) just said ‘we’ve been watching you for a while, I like what I see but you’ve got to work on a few things and hopefully I can make you a better player’. I’m sure he’ll be able to do that and with the players here I can only improve. I’m very excited to just get started. I like to attack but the manager has already told me I need to work on my defending so I’ll try my best to do that. I like to get on the ball, I like to get forward and hopefully score a few goals.”
Priced at just 4.5 in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game, Matthews could definitely be one to watch if he can stay injury-free and edge ahead of Jones in the pecking order. The former Celtic defender tallied a whopping 20 assists in the past three seasons, despite clocking just 5,285 minutes of pitch time – to put that into context, the rampaging Leighton Baines tops the assists charts (19) for Premier League defenders across the last three campaigns, yet he needed 4,244 more minutes to achieve that total.
Matthews is also versatile enough to operate on the right flank, though he’s likely to rely on minutes as a member of Advocaat’s back-four over the coming campaign. Certainly his kind price – compared to Costel Pantilimon and Patrick van Aanholt at 5.0 apiece – will give Fantasy managers food for thought as we eye up a route into a defence that managed 13 clean sheets (six home, seven away) last season, the same number as Arsenal.
Granted, Van Aanholt ranked fourth amongst defenders in terms of shots (30) and fourth for key passes (35) in 2014/15 and is nailed on by comparison, whilst Pantilimon (who earned 4.4 points per appearance last time out) is set to benefit from a change to the BPS scoring, which should boost his chances of Bonus Points through saved shots. Both have the potential to still prove better value for money.
For now, those who are looking to spend only 4.5 on the Black Cats’ backline may be best opting for fellow new boy Coates or skipper John O’Shea. Coates started each of the last six alongside the Irishman last season and is favourite to get the nod ahead of the injury-plagued Wes Brown. Furthermore, a BPS change on clearances, blocks and interceptions should prove beneficial to centre-halves’ chances of earning Bonus.
Looking at the season ticker, the Black Cats’ schedule is rated second most favourable over the opening ten Gameweeks. With just two clashes against last term’s top seven over that period (lei, NOR, SWA, avl, TOT, bou, mun, WHM, wba, NEW), there’s every chance they could begin the campaign strongly.
