Liverpool loanee Ovie Ejaria’s possession football impresses Chris Coleman

Chris Coleman says the Championship is a ‘brutal’ league and Millwall away is never a soft touch, but Ovie Ejaria stood up to it for Sunderland

Chris Coleman has praised the bravery of Ovie Ejaria, after being impressed at how the on-loan Liverpool player has made the transition from under-23s football to the “brutal” Championship.

The 20-year-old made only his third appearance of an injury-disrupted loan spell with Sunderland at Millwall on Saturday.

In the previous two he had the luxury of playing in the hole, but against direct, physical opponents he was asked to do a more orthodox midfield job, and showed the same quality in possession.

“Ovie’s come to us with a little problem with his thigh,” Black Cats manager Coleman revealed. “He’s played the first few games then missed a couple. He’s a good player.

“It’s hard for him because he’s come out of under-23 football playing for Liverpool in games where they dominate and come to us, bottom of a brutal league, which is very physical, but he’s coped very well. He’s very brave in possession.

“He’s done well but there’s more to come from him. I think he’ll get better and better with the more games he plays but he’s a good player.”

He might even have had his first senior goal at the New Den, but when Lee Cattermole picked him out, he dribbled into Millwall’s penalty area only for the ball to get stuck under his feet. Rather than put his side 2-0 up, they had to settle for a 1-1 draw when Shaun Hutchinson forced the ball home at a corner.

Predecessor Simon Grayson largely signed players with Championship track records, whereas Coleman has tried to borrow higher-quality players, and that has meant he has had to settle for less experience. Like Jake Clarke-Salter, suspended at the New Den, Ejaria is a member of England’s Under-20 World Cup-winning squad. He has also given prominent roles to academy products such as George Honeyman, Joel Asoro, Josh Maja and Ethan Robson.

Relying on youth is a brave approach but Coleman sees it as pragmatic.

“With no money to invest, no money to buy, we had to look at what we needed,” he argued. “In midfield we lost one player to Watford who didn’t want to be with us (Didier Ndong) and gained a player in Ovie who’s younger, full of spirit, and wants to come and play for us.