Celtic signed Lewis Morgan from St. Mirren with a lot of hope in January 2018. He was immediately sent back on loan for the rest of the season to St. Mirren. However, he has struggled to secure game time for the Hoops this season. The club went on to sign a new winger on loan in the form of Oliver Burke, and that would have surely disappointed Morgan as he was overlooked.
The 22-year-old joined Sunderland on the last day of the transfer window, and Jack Ross would be delighted to complete a loan deal for him. Ross had earlier worked with Morgan when he was the manager of St. Mirren and the Black Cats boss would know what the player can offer.
Morgan would also feel easy to settle in at the club given Ross has brought assistant James Fowler from St. Mirren and Craig Samson, who was a team-mate of Morgan, is now the goalkeeping coach at the Stadium of Light.
After his signing, Morgan was quoted as saying (The Chronicle), ”I’m joining coaching staff I’ve worked with before, and once I got the opportunity to speak with them, my decision was made. My game is based around scoring and creating goals, but I obviously also try to work hard for the team, and that is the most important thing.”
The winger managed 18 goals and 13 assists in the 17-18 season with St. Mirren which shows that the player is a genuine goal threat when he starts. Sunderland lost the services of Josh Maja to Bordeaux, and the Englishman was undoubtedly the biggest goal threat the club had in their ranks as he had scored 15 goals this season. Ross has managed to sign Will Grigg as a replacement, but the manager would need his midfielders and wingers to step up and replace Maja’s goals.
Morgan has been brought to do exactly that. It is often the case that talented and young wingers produce brilliant skills, but they are unable to deliver the final product in the attacking third. Morgan, on the other hand, has the composure to pick out a right pass and his finishing isn’t too bad either.
He has a certain kind of deceptiveness to his game and is often unpredictable when he takes on defenders. The Scottish international has decent pace. However, his speed is not enough to beat his marker, and that is the reason why he had to evolve on his other aspects.
The 22-year-old can play on either of the flanks, and the Black Cats needed to add some depth and cover in the wide regions. Morgan can be a decent option to come off the bench and can even go on to hold a regular place once he settles in at the club. We believe the winger is going to have a positive impact in his loan spell.
