An out of form Sunderland man has now been compared to a former Newcastle United player.
Sunderland return to Championship action on Tuesday night when they head to Leeds United.
The Black Cats will be looking to build upon a strong performance in the goalless draw vs Bristol City last time out, albeit another game where a lack of a striker was evident.
Interim boss Mike Dodds now has just one win from eight games, with Sunderland winless in 10 and sitting in 13th place of the Championship table.
Dodds made some positive changes to the side after that 5-1 defeat vs Blackburn Rovers on Easter Monday.
But one player who missed out was Abdoullah Ba.
Mike Dodds drops Abdoullah Ba vs Bristol City
Ba, 20, has been a talking point throughout this season.
During the first half of the campaign, Ba looked as though he had really turned a corner, showing real class and quality and complimenting the likes of Jack Clarke on the opposite flank.
But since the whole managerial fiasco at Sunderland, it seems, Ba has been in poor form.
He was benched against Blackburn Rovers and then left out of the squad entirely against Bristol City.
After the game, Dodds explained how Ba’s exclusion was purely to encourage competition in the side.
Abdoullah Ba compared to an ex-Newcastle United player
Speaking on BBC’s Total Sport, former Sunderland man and now BBC pundit Kieron Brady gave his verdict on Ba’s current situation at the Stadium of Light.
Brady said:
“I appreciate Mike Dodds isn’t going to say, ‘look, the reason we’ve dropped him is because he isn’t producing’, or his end product is questionable. Now Mike Dodds might not be able to say that, but I can. And I certainly think that has been one of the concerns because, if you’re somebody that has no end product, then in some ways you can accept it [being dropped]. But if you’re someone that can do a lot of good work prior to not producing that end product, that becomes so frustrating. [Allan] Saint-Maximin was like it to an extent at Newcastle.”
Abdoullah Ba could shine in final weeks with Sunderland
Ba is currently practising Ramadan.
He is fasting right now, although whether or not this is impacting upon his Sunderland form remains to be seen.
But Ba could still return to the side with five games left and play a huge role in the final run-in.
Sunderland desperately need a strong finish; not only will it set the tone for next season, but it could also go a long way in attracting their next manager and their next set of signings.
The summer ahead promises to be a busy one and with Clarke likely moving on, Ba will surely be eager to step up and persuade Sunderland that he can be the man to fill Clarke’s shoes.
It’s been a mixed season and like Brady says, maybe he’s just lacking that end product, much like Saint-Maximin was at Newcastle.
But if Ba can add that to his game, and consistency too, then he’ll quickly prove to be the top player that Sunderland think he can be.
Like Brady says, being dropped will of course be frustrating, but now it’s down to Ba to prove Dodds wrong.