EARLIER this summer, Luke O’Nien volunteered to help install some new seats at the Stadium of Light.

“You should sign that on the back, just in case you make it one day,” said a Sunderland fan, completely oblivious to the identity of the recent signing from Wycombe Wanderers.“Keep plugging away, and you could be famous. What’s your name again?”

Presumably, the supporter fitting the seat next to O’Nien’s does not need reminding now. There have been plenty of success stories at Sunderland this season, but few have been as uplifting as O’Nien’s. By his own admission, the 24-year-old was somewhat star-struck when he swapped Wycombe’s Adams Park for the Stadium of Light, but he has rapidly come to terms with his new surroundings, earning praise both on and off the pitch.

On the field, he has established himself as Sunderland’s first-choice right-back, despite having spent the vast majority of his career playing in midfield. Off it, he has become a firm fans’ favourite thanks to his bubbly, upbeat nature and his disarmingly open social media posts, which have endeared him to the red-and-white faithful.

Today, he returns to another fanbase that once held him in extremely high esteem – when he left Wycombe in the summer, the club’s manager, Gareth Ainsworth, said “Luke epitomises what Wycombe are all about” – and having previously watched a game at Adams Park earlier this season as a fan, it is sure to be an emotional afternoon.

“He’ll enjoy it, and get the reception he deserves,” said Sunderland boss Jack Ross. “I think our supporters have come to understand very quickly why he was so popular with the previous fanbase. You have to back that up with a performance level as well, and he’s done that for us.

“It will be another good learning experience for him, about how you retain that focus on the job in hand and don’t get too caught up in the emotional side of things.

“One thing about him as a character is that he absolutely wants to get better all the time. So he’ll ask questions and he’ll think about things a lot. When he was in that period at the start of his time here, he was searching for the right solutions too. Sometimes, you can search too hard. Sometimes, it’s just a case of things taking time.

“I think hopefully myself and my staff helped him with that. I always had faith in him as a player. I always saw enough in training to know I’d brought the right person to the club.

“He got an opportunity to get in the team in a couple of areas. I wouldn’t say he’s been a revelation for us, but I’ve been really pleased with him. All you can ask of someone is that they grasp their opportunity and keep progressing, and as the season has gone on, he’s got better and better.”

Earlier in the season, O’Nien was trying to carve out a place at the heart of the Sunderland midfield, but when Adam Matthews and Tom Flanagan were both unavailable because of injury in mid-December, he found himself shuffled to the right of the back four.

The move has proved a masterstroke, although Ross freely admits it was the result of circumstance rather than meticulous planning.

“The first time he played at right-back, it was because we didn’t have anybody else who could play in that position,” said the Black Cats boss. “We looked at his attributes and stripped them back and thought, ‘Does Luke have the attributes that you need to play at full-back?’ He probably ticked every box.

“It was then about him learning the role, and he’s done terrifically well. People will say he’s out of position, but I think he’s capable of playing in both positions perfectly well. Actually, I think you could play him anywhere, and he’d adapt.”