Jeremain Lens and Younes Kaboul are set for their eagerly awaited first outings as Sunderland players in our penultimate pre-season friendly at Doncaster Rovers on Wednesday.
Admittedly out of the two signings, Lens is the player that the fans are most looking forward to seeing play. His pace and attacking ability is something we have missed in the last few seasons. It speaks volumes that Advocaat made Lens one of his priority signings this summer, after having Lens in his squad whilst managing at AZ Alkmaar and PSV, he will know what Lens will bring to the team.
Kaboul, has been somewhat of a controversial signing after earthquake gate in 2008. However earthquake gate was created by Kaboul’s agent and by the sound of it, Kaboul is delighted to have joined Sunderland. His ability and experience are a welcome addition to a defence who were not all that convincing last season.
However, due to his participation in the Copa America earlier this summer, Sebastian Coates is not expected to feature on Wednesday.
The friendly on Wednesday is also expected to give the fans an insight on what system Advocaat is going to play during the season. 4-3-3 is Advocaat’s preferred formation as was witnessed during the final games last season. With the addition of Lens to the squad, he is expected to keep his preferred formation intact.
After a less than convincing pre-season programme so far, hopefully we can end pre-season on a high with a positive performance and result on Wednesday in Doncaster and Saturday in Hannover.