When Lee Johnson spoke about the January transfer market, he consistently muttered his desire for more pace and players capable of stretching the play.
His opening few weeks at the club had seen Jack Diamond become key to the Mackems but with little first-team experience and at the tender age of just 21, he wasn’t a player they could rely on to bolster their promotion bid.
Instead, the new manager turned to the transfer market. He signed Ross Stewart from over the border but it’s Jordan Jones, another from Scotland, who has answered Johnson’s prayers.
The Rangers loanee has had to wait patiently for a real run of games in the side but he has now started successive games on the right-hand side of Sunderland’s attack.
The moment that earned him those starts was sumptuous. Jones was introduced from the bench in the 2-2 draw with Crewe and was one of the saviours. He came on with the Black Cats losing by two goals but he scored a superb effort to resuscitate what had been a lifeless performance.
Johnson has made this Sunderland attack infinitely better and that can be seen in the return of Aiden McGeady. The Irishman has assisted 11 goals in 17 outings while Charlie Wyke has just brought up his 20th league strike of the campaign.
Aiden O’Brien has also been an important figurehead of Sunderland’s revival, scoring twice in his last ten outings. That being said, his status in the team has diminished somewhat with Jones’ arrival.
He has been outstanding since coming to the Stadium of Light and his performance on Saturday defined what he can offer to the team. As Johnson’s men beat Rochdale 2-0, Jones was influential, putting in a radiant and energetic performance on the wing.
The Rangers loanee has already developed a crucial understanding with Wyke, which was seen with the winger’s assist for Sunderland’s top scorer. Jones got at his man and then whipped in a tantalising and inch-perfect ball for Wyke to head home.
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It was a moment of delicious quality from a player becoming all the more crucial to Johnson. In total, Jones played two key passes during Sunderland’s win on Saturday. In addition, the 26-year-old completed three successful dribbles as he gave Rochdale left-back Jimmy Keohane a torrid afternoon.
Although he completed just 16 passes, it was a glistening afternoon that should earn him further starts.
Though, we shouldn’t be surprised with his attributes. Speaking after his arrival, Glasgow Live reporter Mark McDougall commented: “In all honesty, he should stroll League One if his attitude is right when he goes down there. He's two-footed so can go inside or outside and has pace to burn. He can be a joy to watch when he's on his game because of how direct and tricky he is."
The winger has proved since signing that he is indeed a joy to watch. His display on Saturday afternoon was full of quality and crucially, end product.