Ovie Ejaria refused to crumble under the pressure of playing at a “toxic” Stadium of Light in a disastrous season for Sunderland.
And former Black Cats assistant Kit Symons reckons the experience will ensure he is now ready for the rough and tumble of the Scottish Premiership.
Rising Liverpool star Ejaria is a
Rangers loan target with Anfield
Steven Gerrard aware of the players talent following his time as Reds youth boss, with reports on Thursday night claiming he had completed a one-year move to Ibrox
The 20-year-old played just 11 games in a four-month loan spell on Wearside last season but Chris Coleman’s No. 2 Symons witnessed enough in that time to believe he can be an Ibrox hit.
It was another season of darkness at the Stadium of Light as Sunderland suffered a second consecutive relegation that saw Welsh duo Coleman and Symons leave Wearside with Jack Ross taking over
But Symons insists Ejaria still shone brightly enough amid the disaster of the drop to League One to suggest he can be a success in the
Scottish Premiership.
As one of the most gifted midfielders of his generation, new Gers boss Gerrard should be able to spot potential in that position.
And Symons believes the talented England Under-21 international is a player the Rangers boss can get the best out of. He told Record Sport: “Ovie is real bright talent who did exceptionally well for Liverpool’s Under-23s.
“He came into us and sort of did okay. It’s a big step from Under-23s football to the Championship and he found the adjustment difficult, as all young players would do.
“But he certainly got better and more of an understanding as his loan period went on. He’s a real talent but he’s learning the difference from Under-23s football where there’s no real consequences to first team football where your decisions are vital.
“If he was going straight from Liverpool Under-23s to Rangers then it would be a bit of a shock. But Sunderland is a big club as well and there’s a lot of pressure - especially at the Stadium of Light which was toxic at times.
“He had to be able to handle that and even in tough situations in games that weren’t going our way he was the one player who wanted the ball.
“In some respects he shows great maturity in his game and in others he’s very much a young boy learning but it would be a great move for him and he’d do well in the Scottish Premiership.
“In Scottish football terms, 20-years-old might not see that young but it is in England where less young players are getting a chance.
“Managers are under great pressure to get the results and they don’t trust as many young players. It would be good for Ovie to play under a manager who knows him and obviously values him because he wants to get him in.
“That would be brilliant for him and he’ll go and do well. I’d be more concerned if he didn’t have the experience of his time a Sunderland.
“After games when we had a glass of wine in the office the opposition managers and coaches would always ask about Ovie and said after looking at him they regretted not trying to get him.
“He was one of the few players in the Sunderland line-up they were asking about. He will try the unexpected, off the cuff things and little sliderule passes and things like that.
“He’s certainly a lot better for those 11 games with Sunderland and Rangers will reap the benefits. He’s a real talent and really exciting on the ball, he can see a pass and breaks the lines in midfield with his athleticism.
“When he’s on the game he’s got an awful lot of talent and ability and will excite the Ibrox crowd.”
Symons watched Ejaria play for the England Under-21 side in a defensive midfield role but reckons he’s more effective when given the freedom to get forward.
The former Fulham boss said: “He looks like a Patrick Viera-type but he was more defensive. I watched him for England Under-21s against Romania and he played in a holding midfielder but he’s better as an attacking midfielder.
“Ovie can do the defensive side but he’s more offensive and his game is all about bombing forward and getting in the box and playing little one-twos around the edge of the box.
“We seen him as a Number 8 - and if Steven Gerrard can’t pick a midfielder then there’s no chance for any of us, really! Steven would have seen him for Liverpool and know his qualities.
“Whether he’s a regular starter and plays every game will be down to Steven Gerrard but if he does go then Rangers will be getting a player with a lot to offer.
“He’s very comfortable on the ball, he’ll always look to get on it, even in tight situations when he’s being marked closely.
“I’m not going to say he was outstanding at Sunderland because he wasn’t. He was still in sort of Under-23 mode and he was learning but he showed an appetite to learn.
“We knew he was a good player because we’d watched his clips from Liverpool. And you could see his quality in training but he was raw.
“I remember we were 1-0 up against Norwich City at home and Ovie went clean through. The keeper was in no man’s land and it was on for him just to slot it past the goalie for 2-0.
“But you could almost see him thinking in his head ‘I want to go round the keeper and roll it into the empty net’ and he tried to do that and the keeper managed to smother it.
“That’s the kind of decision-making where we felt he wasn’t quite where he needs to be. He’s a young boy learning, which is what the loan process does for you.
“Off the field he’s fairly quiet and stuck with a few of our younger boys, the likes of Josh Maja, and he was quite popular in the dressing room without being the most outspoken.
“He gets on with his business and alwayst trains well and was a good lad to have about. The Championship is a competitive, tough league as is the Scottish Premiership.”
