Talal earns Wilko praise

El Karkouri's appetite has impressed Wilkinson since he arrived from Paris St Germain shortly before the transfer window closed at the end of January.

He could line up in the centre of the Sunderland defence at Fulham today, having also been used in midfield in his brief Black Cats career.

At a time when Sunderland are crying out for strong figures, Wilkinson believes El Karkouri has bolstered their cause.

The Stadium of Light manager said: "I think Talal has done very well in the circumstances.

"He's shown a calmness and assurance, and he's certainly not been afraid to take responsibility on and off the ball.

"From what I've seen of him around the place, he's taken on the situation as one of us.

"It's one thing reading about the situation here and being on the outside; it's another thing living it.

"But when you consider the differences in language, culture and style of football, he's strode along as if he'd popped up the road from York."

Wilkinson knows a good result this afternoon would set up Sunderland's next fixture - at home to fellow strugglers Bolton Wanderers on March 15.

Sunderland go into today's match seven points behind fourth-bottom Bolton with ten games left, but Wilkinson reckons Fulham could be there for the taking.

They have played twice since Sunderland's defeat to Middlesbrough - against Tottenham Hotspur and Burnley - and Wilkinson hopes his team can capitalise if they are suffering from fatigue.

He said: "Fulham have had a heavy programme, and they've come out of it with one point and an exit from the FA Cup.

"Presumably, they will have some new players available because they made a few changes from the team that played Tottenham for the game at Burnley.

"They've been difficult on their home patch recently, but we have to get a result.

"If we did that, it would add a lot of zest to the next two weeks ahead of the Bolton game."

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