THROUGH adversity comes opportunity. The last few years have been a traumatic time for Sunderland, but while the club has seen a host of senior players pass through the exit door, their replacements find themselves with a golden chance to impress.

Partly through necessity, and partly through design, the majority of those replacements are youngsters, and while that brings a certain amount of uncertainty to Jack Ross’ squad, it has also led to a sense of renewal and rebirth.

Just as supporters have celebrated the arrival of new owner Stewart Donald, so they have relished the opportunity to watch a new generation of players beginning to find their feet.

Sixteen-year-old Bali Mumba is at the vanguard of the shift towards youth, and having sat out Thursday’s Carabao Cup defeat to Sheffield Wednesday, the teenage midfielder is set to return to the starting line-up for tomorrow’s Championship game with Scunthorpe United.

George Honeyman, Lynden Gooch and Josh Maja are also firmly established as first-team regulars, and two days ago, Jack Ross used the League Cup to blood another two products from the Academy of Light production line.

England Under-19 international Elliot Embleton made his first start on the left of midfield, ensuring a memorable end to a remarkable week that also saw the Durham-born youngster shortlisted for UEFA’s Goal of the Season award.

Embleton was joined in Thursday’s side by another first-time starter, Denver Hume, a 22-year-old Northumbrian who has been on Sunderland’s books since the age of ten.

Hume could assume an increasingly prominent position if his fellow left-back, Bryan Oviedo, leaves before the end of the month, but even if he finds himself behind the Costa Rican in the pecking order, he is part of a crop of young players who feel they are at the ideal club to progress.

Had Sunderland been in either of the top two divisions, they would almost certainly have been in the Under-23s at best. Playing in League One is hardly an ideal scenario, but at least it has provided an opportunity for the Black Cats’ youngsters to earn their stripes.

“With everyone new coming in, we’re getting an opportunity now, which is great,” said Hume, who made his Sunderland debut off the substitutes’ bench in the 3-0 win over Wolves on the final day of last season. “When you get that opportunity, you have to earn it, and then you have to take it as well. You can’t really stop there, you have to push on as well.

“Quite a lot of us were involved throughout pre-season, and it showed the manager was taking a look at us. He just said to us we were a young squad, but if we took our opportunities, we’d stay in it. I think everyone’s enjoying that.”

Ross has openly admitted that he is surprised at just how little senior football some of Sunderland’s younger players have played in the last few seasons.

As a result, if those youngsters are not going to be battling for a regular place in the starting line-up at the Stadium of Light, the Black Cats boss would rather send them out on loan to aid their development.

Tom Flanagan, Dylan McGeouch, Charlie Wyke and Jerome Sinclair should all be available before the end of the month, with Duncan Watmore also due to return from injury in the autumn, and once Ross has all his squad available, some of his youngsters could find their route to the first team blocked.

Hume is one of the players who could find themselves farmed elsewhere, and while he would love to remain as part of Ross’ first-team group for the next nine months, the full-back accepts he will have to do what is best for his career.

“To be fair, I’ve been kind of unsure what was going to happen,” he said. “I’ve kind of just taken it week by week. I’ve been involved since the first week of pre-season, and since then, I’ve just got my head down and kept working hard. Hopefully, I can stay and play more games, but if not, we’ll just have to see.”

The Academy of Light has proved a successful breeding ground in recent years, with Jordan Pickford and Jordan Henderson both progressing to Sunderland’s first team before landing high-profile Premier League moves that paved the way for their inclusion in the England side at this summer’s World Cup.

It might be stretching it to suggest that George Honeyman will emulate Pickford and Henderson in the next few years, but in the Prudhoe-based 23-year-old, Ross has identified a new Sunderland skipper who is already inspiring his contemporaries in the squad.

“It’s great George being captain because he knows the club and he’s been here since he was young,” said Hume. “That’s great for us young players to look up to, and with him being given the leadership, I think that just makes us want to push on to do that in the future.”