Jürgen Klinsmann Praises Tottenham’s DeAndre Yedlin
Tottenham Hotspur right-back, DeAndre Yedlin’s, season-long loan spell with Sunderland has been beneficial for the 22-year-old that former Spurs striker, Jürgen Klinsmann, has offered the American defender some praise.
When the 2015-16 season was about to begin, DeAndre Yedlin was penciled in as Mauricio Pochettino’s first choice backup behind Kyle Walker at the right-back position. Unfortunately for Yedlin his spot was in jeopardy after Kieran Trippier would be signed from Burnley.
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The arrival of Trippier meant that Tottenham would have a perfect backup option just in case Walker would suffer any injury after coming down with a few knocks here and there last term.
And with Kieran Trippier being the same age as Kyle Walker (25) as well as having plenty of experience at right-back over the years it was simple what would happen to DeAndre Yedlin. He would be going out on a season-long loan to learn and acclimate himself to the Premier League’s style of football.
Although the 22-year-old’s loan spell didn’t start off too well when Yedlin joined Sunderland. It would eventually get better after a managerial change from Dick Advocaat to Sam Allardyce.
The Black Cats would fight for survival this past season and one key member who helped Sunderland stave off relegation was DeAndre Yedlin’s play at right-back. Here’s what Jürgen Klinsmann had to say about the U.S. international’s season:
“We’re thrilled about his season because he broke through at Sunderland and Sunderland’s not an easy spot to play at, especially when they’re fighting relegation,” (via Sunderland Echo).
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“I think for DeAndre this was a big learning year and made him stronger, made him better and hopefully also more confident.”
“With what he’s going through, he’s still a very young player and it couldn’t have gone any better during the season.”
“Most importantly, Sunderland were not relegated.”
“They saved themselves and he played a vital role in that with an awesome coach, Sam Allardyce, so he gets a big confidence boost and now he has to confirm this good form at the Copa America.”
DeAndre Yedlin’s pace from the right-back position while continuously improving his defending and crossing skills made him a logical choice, according to Sam Allardyce, to play over incumbent Billy Jones. Wherein Yedlin would make 25 appearances for Sunderland in all competitions.
Because Sunderland survived the drop with the help of Yedlin and the fact that Tottenham have Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier as their top two right-backs, everyone’s thought process is to sell the American defender for £2 million.
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Tottenham manager, Mauricio Pochettino hasn’t confirmed nor denied that DeAndre Yedlin would be sold. The same could be said for Sunderland in that they haven’t mentioned signing the U.S. international permanently after he impressed on a season-long loan spell.
However, it does seem too early to let Yedlin go for less than they bought and after only giving him one appearance for 11 minutes. At the very least, Pochettino should give DeAndre Yedlin another loan spell to a different Premier League club to gain more experience while keeping him in mind for the future.
Seeing as how he’s still only 22-years-old and can also play in the midfield as a right winger. Which gives Mauricio Pochettino more flexibility and some much needed pace to bring on late in games.