Luke O’Nien has named one of his Sunderland teammates as someone he has ‘learned a lot’ from during a very difficult campaign.
Luke O’Nien joined Sunderland in 2018 and has now surpassed 250 appearances for the club.
The 29-year-old has been a regular in the senior team, playing in various positions in midfield and across the backline.
The club’s return to the Championship has seen him adopt a permanent position in central defence though, while he has been handed even more responsibility with the captain’s armband over the last year.
O’Nien became captain this season after Corry Evans was sidelined with a lengthy injury in January 2023, with Dan Neil acting as vice-captain.
The defender has started all but three of Sunderland’s matches in the Championship and has been forced to become a leader among an extremely young squad.
Luke O’Nien had to fill the ‘big shoes’ of Corry Evans
Despite a really poor campaign for the entire team that has ended in 16th place, O’Nien has claimed he has ‘learned a lot’ from one of his teammates.
Speaking to Chronicle Live, the centre-back said: “They have been big shoes to step into with Corry.
“I’ve learned a lot from him and I’ve enjoyed a lot of parts of this season. I’ve grown as a person, as a player. I’m still developing.
“The coaches have taught me so much about the game. They’ve given everything to this football club and sadly we haven’t justified how good they are with the results and that’s where I take a lot of responsibility in the performances. But again we will get there and those coaches, we will show how good they are in the future when we start getting the results we deserve. We have just got to get much better.”
Should Corry Evans be offered a new contract?
Luke O’Nien gets a lot of stick for his performances and has always become a bit of a scapegoat during rough periods of his time at the Stadium of Light.
However, there is no denying his commitment to the club and he will be a great mentor to the younger ones until he eventually leaves.
But the way he clearly looks up to Evans, despite his long-term absence, is a great indicator that we should be keeping him around.
The ‘brilliant’ 33-year-old is out of contract this summer and there is a lot of doubt around his future.
He has received praise for his cameo appearances since returning from injury last month and his presence in the dressing room is very clear, with youngster Harrison Jones also highlighting the advice he had received from him.
While Evans is unlikely to be a regular in the starting line-up next term, it seems like the most sensible idea to offer him a new contract and see if he fancies another year on Wearside.