THE development of young players has been one of the key stories of Sunderland’s season.

Anthony Patterson, Trai Hume, Dennis Cirkin, Dan Neil, Edouard Michut, Amad Diallo and Jack Clarke have all played crucial roles in the Black Cats’ success in their first season back in the Championship, and after Sunday’s final-game drama at Preston, a new name can now be added to the list.

Pierre Ekwah only turned 21 in January, and when he joined Sunderland in the same month, he did not have a single senior appearance under his belt.

Spells in the youth teams of both Chelsea and West Ham had followed a period in the youth set-up at Nantes and three years at French football’s celebrated academy at Clairefontaine, but he joined the Black Cats as an untried youngster feeling his way into senior football.

Five months on, and not only does he have 16 senior appearances to his name, but the quality of his performances have been such that he is keeping Edouard Michut out of Sunderland’s first team.

“He’s doing exceptionally well,” said Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray. “He’s a young boy who had never played a professional game before coming to Sunderland. He’d had a lot of Under-23 football, but you can see the talent and the physicality that he's got.”

That physicality has undoubtedly aided Sunderland’s efforts in the final couple of months of the season, with Ekwah proving an ideal complement to Dan Neil at the heart of midfield.

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Tall, powerful and athletic, Ekwah has enabled the Black Cats to summon sufficient steel to go along with the undoubted style that they possess in the final third.

On Sunday, at Preston, the youngster ran the game from his central-midfield position, breaking up Preston attacks, striding purposefully forward and supplying a series of passes that unlocked the home side’s defence.

The Northern Echo: Pierre Ekwah starred in Sunderland's win at PrestonPierre Ekwah starred in Sunderland's win at Preston (Image: Ian Horrocks)

He delivered the pass of the game to release Joe Gelhardt behind Preston’s back four in the first half, and was always looking to make forward ground as Sunderland chased the win that ultimately enabled them to finish in the top six.

Understandably, he remains a work in progress, but like a number of his team-mates, it is exciting to imagine where his physical attributes and abundant technical potential could take him.

“That physical part of his game is really coming along,” said Mowbray. “I keep telling him that if he can develop that physical aspect of his game then what a footballer we’ve got because he can do amazing things with his feet.

“He’s so clever with his feet, you can see how fast his feet are, and he can see pictures. He’s a good footballer, so if he can just add the off-the-ball stuff then he’ll be even better. I’m not sure he’s brilliant in the air at the moment, but he’s six foot one so he can help us in that aspect of the game as well.”