Jewison Bennette arrived on Wearside an unknown quantity but has burst onto the scene at the Stadium of Light in the last fortnight. The new Sunderland signing was unheard of prior to his move earlier this summer, but the 18-year-old has made quite the impression in just 25 minutes of Championship football.
The youngster went close to scoring on his debut at Reading and then went one better and scored a late equaliser against Watford to ensure Tony Mowbray's side would share the spoils against the recently relegated side. The Cosa Rican international then scored a brace against South Korea to firmly put himself in contention for the World Cup in Qatar later this year.
The vast majority of the red and white faithful will not have had a chance to watch the youngster in the flesh - with both of his appearances coming on the road - with the game against Preston North-End next weekend a possibility for his first appearance at the Stadium of Light.
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So how did Sunderland unearth and 18-year-old from the very depths of South America. Sunderland's sporting director Kristjaan Speakman has lifted the lid on Stuart Harvey's scouting trip and how he sold the move to Bennette.
Speaking to SAFC Unfiltered, Speakman said: "Stuart Harvey was out in Costa Rica, bless him I think he thought there was going to be some sun and then it rained everyday so it’s just as well we got a good signing out of the back of it. Stuart is out there watching two games, spending time with the family and convincing the boy that Sunderland is the best place to go.
"I think everyone has seen the talent this kid has got and Sunderland wasn’t his only option, so you have to go and have to convince. That’s where I think our football club can be really positive because we’re not just relying on an agent to communicate our message, but we are on the flight and we are out there.
“We are in the face, we’re presenting our project and giving them an insight into what it is and all of a sudden the players want to come and that’s down to Stewart and his team when it gets to that point and then everything else that goes on around formation of contracts et cetera to make sure we get the best deal.”
The Black Cats have been proactive in the transfer market since the arrival of Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and Kristjaan Speakman, tapping into the youth market in the potential talent from across the globe. The arrivals of Leon Dajaku and Ron Thorben-Hoffmann last season were a real eyebrow raiser, with a club in League One signing players from Bayern Munich.
“I think that’s the open-mindedness of this football club that you’ve got now,” Speakman said when asked about signings from abroad. “I don’t think there is an issue around language, there’s not an issue around culture. There is a real openness around what type of talent that can come and trying to develop that exciting, hard-working, industrious, creative team, you want to have a little bit of a mix.
“We are just trying to identify the talent we can get at the right value that we think can come in. Our recruitment team, led by Stuart, have done incredible jobs since we sort of formed and created that team.
“They are an incredible help to myself, Steve (Davison) and Kyril (Louis-Dreyfus) because they are undergoing all the relevant due diligence you’d require, which is both qualitative in terms of watching the games and quantitative with the numbers to try to make sure we’re in a position to make the best decision. Then you have to do the leg work."
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