It isn’t the wildest exaggeration to say that the promoted teams that climbed up to the Premier League last season struggled significantly in the unforgiving division.

Leicester City, Ipswich Town, and Southampton only amassed 59 points in total as they unsurprisingly made up the bottom three come May, having given up a ridiculous 248 goals along the way.

Thankfully, Sunderland are flying the promoted flag high at this point, with the Black Cats, Leeds United, and Burnley already up to 23 points between them so early into the brand new season.

Amazingly, Regis Le Bris’ men find themselves positioned in a fantastic fifth spot in the league after just six games, with their stern defensive record just one standout aspect of their well-oiled unit.

Sunderland's impressive defensive displays

Sunderland definitely had both Omar Alderete and Robin Roefs to thank for their last 1-0 win on the road at Nottingham Forest.

Away from heading home the match-winner, the Paraguayan defender – who was hailed as a “warrior” at the full-time whistle by journalist Andy Sixsmith – would come away from the tense contest with three duels won and nine clearances registered to preserve the Dutchman’s clean sheet.

Roefs has also been near faultless at the back for Le Bris’ men to ensure only four goals this season have been leaked, with a high average of 3.3 saves per Premier League game so far this campaign, showing off a goalkeeper who’s always alert to the danger.

Roefs and Alderete aren’t the only striking partnership defensively that is being formed, however, with the ex-Getafe centre-back no doubt more at ease when settling into the heart of defence, knowing he has the imperious Nordi Mukiele next to him.

Games played

4

Wins

3

Draws

1

Losses

0

Team goals scored

4

Team goals conceded

2

It’s even clearer when looking at the table above that both the South American and the Frenchman have already formed a formidable working relationship, with Sunderland yet to lose when the dominant pair are side-by-side, as only two goals have also been given up across their four outings together.

This could, unfortunately, spell the end for a long-standing Black Cats servant, even after he played a vital role in Sunderland’s leap to the big time.

Sunderland star on borrowed time thanks to Alderete and Mukiele

Le Bris would, after all, be foolish to try and switch up his Sunderland starting lineups, knowing he has a duo at his disposal who look born to play alongside each other.

The Frenchman sticking with both Alderete and Mukiele for the foreseeable future will be unwelcome news for Luke O’Nien, though, with the much-loved Sunderland defender named in Le Bris’ squad for the first time this season after battling back from injury.

He could well be utilised as a utility figure moving forward, considering the no-nonsense titan can play as a full-back, a centre-back, and as a midfielder at a moment’s notice.

But, it’s far-fetched to assume he will be able to usurp either Alderete or Mukiele in the starting lineup now to take up his usual centre-back spot.

Indeed, the EFL veteran’s lack of experience at a top-flight level immediately places him below both the 28-year-old and the 27-year-old in the refreshed pecking order.

Games played

314

Goals scored

23

Assists

16

Promotions

2x

Still, nobody will ever be able to take away O’Nien’s whirlwind success story with the Black Cats up to this point, with the tough-tackling 30-year-old one key figure who helped pull Sunderland out of their League One mire to then set them on the route to competing in the Premier League right now.

Last season even saw the ex-Wycombe Wanderers battler pick up three goals to steer Sunderland to playoff final glory, away from also collecting a sturdy 16 clean sheets in league action.

However, O’Nien won’t want to overstay his welcome now if the Premier League is too gigantic a step for him to take, having already been lauded as a “remarkable” icon of the club by EFL pundit George Elek.

For the time being, O’Nien will be patient and hope Premier League opportunities fall into his lap, even if his minutes now look to be restricted by the emergence of Alderete and Mukiele.

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ByKelan Sarson