At the eleventh hour, DeAndre Yedlin sealed a season-long loan deal from Tottenham to Sunderland on deadline day. Having fallen out of favour at White Hart Lane, the USA international is keen to get his career back on track and revealed that a host of opportunities passed him by during the transfer window before he made his way to Wearside:
“This last month has been pretty stressful because there have been so many different teams that have come up and then gone. I have some sort of say but not a whole ton, so that was tough. But I’m glad where I ended up and I’m hoping to make the most out of it. Obviously they’re a little bit lower on the table. I just felt like it was a good place for me to go. It’s a league that you really have to get used to. It’s a tough league, so I think getting the experience of playing with a Premier League team, just getting hopefully consistent games will be huge for me.”
The History
Born in Seattle, Yedlin joined the Seattle Sounders youth system for the 2010/11 campaign. He then enrolled with the University of Akron in February 2011, where he would spend two years playing for the collegiate team. The jet-heeled right-back notched 12 assists in 42 appearances for the Akron Zips, before signing a professional contract with the Seattle Sounders in January 2013.
In two terms with the Sounders, Yedlin racked up three goals and six assists in 69 appearances across all competitions. One of the rising talents in the league, he was named as a member of the MLS All-Star team in 2013, becoming the first rookie since 2005 to receive that honour.
Despite signing a contract with Spurs in the summer of 2014, Yedlin didn’t make the switch to White Hart Lane until January 2015 – following the conclusion of the MLS season. To date, the 22-year-old defender has just one Premier League appearance to his name, having come on as a substitute in a 1-0 loss to Aston Villa last term.
Yedlin is perhaps most known on these shores for his exploits on the international stage, having impressed with his high-impact cameo appearances for USA in the 2014 World Cup. He’s been a regular for the USMNT since breaking through at the beginning of last year, tallying 23 caps in all.
The Prospects
Although exclusively deployed as a right-back during his two-year stint with the Seattle Sounders, Yedlin has been tasked with a right-wing role in three of his previous five starts for USA by virtue of his exceptional speed. Indeed, the Tottenham loanee is renowned for pace that would give Hector Bellerin a run for his money in the full-back stakes and could cause problems for many a Premier League defender.
With Jeremain Lens excelling on the right flank and Spurs – if their pre-season campaign is anything to go by – looking to nurture Yedlin’s defensive qualities, the American seems more likely to push for starts at the right-back berth. In light of Adam Matthews being ruled out until October with an ankle injury, Billy Jones – who’s started all four matches – stands as the only competition for Yedlin. Although the former has failed to impress so far, it remains to be seen if Dick Advocaat will integrate the American after the home tie against his parent club next Gameweek, though.
In the event that Advocaat – in appreciation of Sunderland’s paucity of wide options now that Adam Johnson is a long-term absentee – shifts Lens back to a more familiar left wing role and hands Yedlin a chance on the right flank, the 4.4-priced defender would certainly pique our interest by way of his out-of-position potential. That seems unlikely, however, given that Jermain Defoe is now stationed on the left due to Advocaat’s reluctance to field him as a lone striker.
Looking at the statistics, Sunderland’s defensive frailties this term are likely to keep most managers well clear for now, though. After proving such a good source of budget defenders last term, with 13 clean sheets accrued, they’ve struggled to batten down the hatches, shipping more goals (ten) and shots inside the box (46) than any other team.
Nonetheless, should Advocaat’s side rediscover their resilience and Yedlin manages to oust Jones in the right-back pecking order, that 4.4 price tag suggests he could yet become a viable option for our five-man defences, given that fellow full-back Patrick van Aanholt come in at 5.0. With Bournemouth, West Ham, West Brom and Newcastle also to follow in the next six, the schedule certainly offers a degree of optimism for the Wearsiders as they look to build on back-to-back draws against Swansea and Villa.
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