One Sunderland player is expected to enjoy a much more positive second season at the club.
Sunderland made eleven signings last summer and have found success out of very few of them.
Jobe Bellingham has arguably been the brightest arrival, having scored seven goals in his 43 starts in the Championship.
Jenson Seelt showed plenty of promise before he picked up a long-term injury, while Adil Aouchiche showed glimpses of excitement and eventually started six of Sunderland’s final nine games.
One department that failed to impress was attack, having signed four strikers from across Europe.
Mason Burstow, Eliezer Mayenda and Luis Hemir Semedo were undeniable disappointments, while Nazariy Rusyn was easily the best of the bunch and scored two goals before he was sidelined.
The Ukrainian hadn’t featured for the Black Cats since the 4-2 defeat to Southampton in March, but is thought to be fully fit following the season’s conclusion.
Despite rumours of an early exit for Rusyn, Mike Dodds has now backed him to massively improve after a ‘clunky’ first campaign on Wearside.
There will be even more ‘pressure’ on Nazariy Rusyn
Speaking to the Sunderland Echo, Dodds said: “Naz started training last week so he’s fine, if the season had run for another week then I think he would have featured.
“I think his season, and it’s a word I’ve used to describe ours on the whole, has been a little bit clunky in that he’s come into the club and doesn’t speak the language, which I always think is difficult for any player. There was an issue with the visa for his family and so he initially was here by himself, that wasn’t the initial plan and so I think that was probably a bit of a hammer blow for him at the time.
“Then you factor in all the other things, a completely different style of play, a different part of the world. It’s a different way of life. When you actually reflect, Naz is one who you would probably want more from but to have expected more from him would have been really harsh.
“I do think from the start of next season, pre-season is going to be really important for him because I think those factors have been taken away really. His family are here with him, his language has got a lot better, he’s a lot more settled in the region and has got a place [home].
“So there’ll be a little more pressure on him but I think we’ll see a better reflection of him as a player.”
Where will he play next season?
There has been a lot of talk about Rusyn becoming more of a wide player, and while I do think he has a lot of energy and good movement, I’m not sure he will have much of an impact on the wing either.
We need wingers like Jack Clarke and Patrick Roberts who can take men on and aren’t afraid to show off their skill, while I’m not sure Rusyn has that.
The 25-year-old definitely showed some potential up front and he probably would have scored more goals if he had the service around him, but that was a huge problem at the Stadium of Light.
Rusyn will surely massively improve next term, but if he remains first choice then fans will undoubtedly get very frustrated.