Sunderland Under-23s handed a surprise start to Armenian international Gael Andonian against West Brom last night - but who is he?The 23-year-old centre-back, who has 23 caps for his country, has been on trial at the Stadium of Light for the past few weeks. Andonian played the full 90 minutes for Elliott Dickman's side, helping the under-23s record a 2-1 victory over West Brom. Here's what we know about the player. Where's he from? The 6 ft 1 centre-back came through the youth academy at Marseille. He made his debut for the League 1 side in November 2014, after coming off the bench in a 2–1 victory over Lens. But, he struggled to nail down a first-team place, leading to a loan spell at French side Dijon. Andonian has spent the last six months on loan at Italian club Verona, and only left Marseille this summer. Regarding his international career, the defender played two games for France's under-16 side, before switching his allegiances to Armenia. How did he play last night? Andonian was deployed in the heart of defence for the under-23s against West Brom, alongside Jack Bainbridge. It was the latter who did most of the talking, which is understandable considering the familiarity with his team-mates. Andonian didn't hold back, flying into a tackle with West Brom striker Callum Murton near the halfway line in the early exchanges. But, the defender settled down and was a commanding figure in Sunderland's backline, consistently heading away crosses into the Black Cats' box. What are the chances of Sunderland signing him? It's hard to say considering Sunderland already have Glenn Loovens, Alim Ozturk, Tom Flanagan and Jack Baldwin who can play centre-back. But, Andonian has been training well with the first team, and manager Jack Ross, who was in attendance last night, will have been impressed with what he saw. After the game, under-23s manager Dickman said: "He trained with us yesterday (Sunday) and I believe he's been training a lot with the senior side during the week." "It's a good opportunity for him to show the senior staff what he can do. It's been very limited what I've seen of him. "I was impressed with how he trained yesterday, I thought he approached a group of strangers well. "He gave his best, he tried his best and tonight I think the level of football that we're playing at, under-23s, I think he handled the game well. "As far as the future, that's not my decision."
With Loovens getting on a bit, Flanagan being out and Ozturk either being ****e or just not settled in yet, if this lad is good then it would be a good idea to sign him up. I like the sound of the report that he was winning headers all game, sometimes that's virtually all you need CBs to do if they're up against long ball merchants.
Sunderland's u23's looked smaller than WBA at most positions, and especially across the back line, only one of our players, #10, appeared to have a physical advantage during challenges. Baldwin truly needs a partner and a backup, but that person must be big and fast.
please log in to view this image ROKER REPORT FANPOSTS STUBHUB INTERVIEWS! OPINION! INTERVIEW: Armenian & French journalists on Sunderland trialist Gaël Andonian - is he any good? Gaël Andonian is currently on trial with Sunderland as he bids to win a permanent contract. To find out whether or not he’s any good, we spoke to Armenian journalist Karen Rafayelyan and French writer Baptiste Binet - and they have very different opinions! By Gav1879@Gav1879 Sep 5, 2018, 7:49pm BSTSHARE please log in to view this image AFP/Getty Images Perhaps the most intriguing thing about Sunderland U23s win over West Bromwich Albion on Monday evening was that our team featured a trialist, Armenian international defender Gaël Andonian. At the age of just 23 Andonian is just at the start of his career, but after his release from Marseille following the expiration of his contract at the end of last season he has been on the lookout for a new club somewhere in Europe. He’s spent the last few weeks training with the first team at the Academy of Light and, in his first opportunity to shine, he completed a full ninety minutes in the centre of defence as Elliott Dickman’s side won 2-1. Because of his age and inexperience, Andonian isn’t particularly well known. He made just one appearance in the Marseille first team, as a substitute when he was just 19 year old, and has played the majority of his football either out on loan or for Marseille’s second string in the fourth tier of French football. With that in mind I spoke with Baptiste Binet (who writes for Le Parisien and is a fan of Dijon, the club for whom Andonian spent a brief spell on loan with during the 2015-16 season) and Karen Rafayelyan (the editor of Armenian sports website Vivaro News)to try and find out more about the player and whether he stands a chance of earning a contract with Sunderland. please log in to view this image Getty Images On his time on loan with Dijon FCO... Baptiste Binet: “Gael arrived at Dijon in October 2015. The situation was that we really wanted to get promoted to Ligue 1, so we needed another central defender or left back just in case. He only played six league games with Dijon and he was sent off against Bourg en Bresse in the January. That was the last game for him and he never played again. He never was on the bench either because, in Ligue 2, we can only choose five substitutes and the coach instead chose to put a full back on the bench. He scored twice (in the same game). I don’t know if the majority of Dijon fans will even remember him. I think he was a good guy, but he didn't write history with only six games in the team!” On why he never ‘made it’ at Marseille... Karen Rafayelyan: “During the 2014/15 season Andonian got some minutes with the first team. At the time he was the captain of Olympique Marseille II, so he was expected to get more playing time for the following season. But then, Rudy Garcia came in as a manager and Andonian was forgotten for a long time. Then he was loaned to Dijon. In the following years he had loans to Dijon and Veria (Greece), but bar that one substitute appearance he never played for the Marseille first team.” Baptiste Binet: “At that time it was very difficult for Andonian to gain regular game time at Marseille, who instead prefer to buy new young players from outside of the club than to be confident in their own academy and the players it produces. There are two explanations for this - 1, the players from the academy weren’t good enough (with the exception of Samir Nasri, nobody really comes out at Marseille) and 2, the manager and club don’t really care about the academy. The truth is between those two. Andonian just didn’t stand a chance.” please log in to view this image VI-Images via Getty Images On whether he’s been a good player for the Armenian national team... Karen Rafayelyan: “The Armenian national team always has problems in the centre of defence, and he was considered as a potential player to fill the position. He was called to the team aged 19. He got a really warm welcome by fans, and he had many good matches for the team. Of course, he wasn’t the best player we expected to see in that position, but there were big hopes with him, to see him growing a big player and solve that problem for the national team. But, as you can see, his club affairs were not as good as we expected to see here in Armenia. He had also some terrible matches in an Armenia shirt - once he got a red card in the first half. But generally, we can say that Gael Andonian’s International career and football has been much better than his club career.” On the sort of defender he is... Karen Rafayelyan: “Gael Andonian is a classic centre-back. They tried to use him at left-back in the national team and also at some of his clubs, but he plays better in centre. He plays good with his head, he is tactically clever - he is not fast, but also not slow. It is difficult to say what are his strengths and weaknesses, he’s just generally competent all round. As I said, we expected he would develop these qualities, but in the last 2-3 years he hasn’t made any real progress which you can see on the pitch.” Baptiste Binet: “Andonian is very much an old-school defender - he isn't physical, and not even quick (a problem if you want him to play as a left back) but is very good at being in the right place at the right time. That said, he’s not really played against players of the quality that he’d come up against in England, even in the third tier.” please log in to view this image AFP/Getty Images On why his career has stalled to this point... Baptiste Binet: “Let me put it this way... without meaning to sound rude about Gael, I don’t understand how he can play for Sunderland, especially if you want to go back to the second division.” Karen Rafayelyan: “I am not well informed about his club affairs, but I guess the problem was that he kept the dream to play for Marseille and stuck with the club for a very long time. Maybe, now he has left, he can find better-suited teams where he’ll not only play more regularly but also develop as a player.” And the burning question - could he be a success at Sunderland? Karen Rafayelyan: “Every new challenge is now a big chance for Gael to settle his career. I am sure Andonian still has something to offer. I also hope your coach will work with him well psychologically, as he needs to completely restart his career.” Baptiste Binet: “The answer is no, not really. This trial surprised me a lot. I really think Andonian is a good guy but I don’t see how he could possibly succeed at Sunderland when he couldn’t even get into the team at Dijon.” please log in to view this image
He's only got to be good enough for L1 for starters, so it sounds like there's a bit of upside if he gets some regular playing time...?
I like the idea of a classic centre back for L1 anarl. John MacPhail did a pretty decent job for us and he never really was a top player.
On second thoughts this quote: "I don’t see how he could possibly succeed at Sunderland when he couldn’t even get into the team at Dijon" makes me think the journalists don't know what they're talking about seeing as Dijon are three points behind PSG and we're in league one. Nobody's expecting him to be the next Varane just good enough to help get promoted to the championship.
It does say he was at Dijon when they were in Ligue 2 though, which is an appallingly low standard. Let’s be honest, it sounds pretty ****ing woeful reading that.
Nah he doesn't sound like he's up to much I'm just dubious about the logic of him not getting in the Dijon side meaning he'd be useless to us in league one. They might have been in Ligue 2 at the time but they sharp got promoted and look to be doing well.
Always think you never know till you put him in.....give him a contract till January. Pay as you play type of thing and give him some game time.....maybe a better option than the Turkish lad who seems a mistake waiting to happen. The lad also suits our profile....young, hungry and wanting to prove himself.
To be fair to the lad hes only 23 years old now and the way these Journalists are going on youd think they were talking about a 30 year old. He'd have been even younger in the games they are trying to sum him up in. Marseille are a very big club, that qualifies for europe every season so theres no shame not making the grade there. Most young lads start their international careers playing for the U21's it sounds like he was threw straight into the first team with alot of expectation on his shoulders because he was Marseille B team captain. Its impossible to say now what kind of player hes going to become because he hasnt even got anywhere near his peak yet, hes still developing. With the right coaching and a consistent run of games he could become a complete different player.
Gael Andonian remains on trial at Sunderland as Jack Ross considers strengthening his defensive options.The Armenian international is available after being released by Marseille in the summer. He played in Sunderland U23's 2-1 win over West Brom on Monday night and Ross was impressed with his contribution. He said: "He did OK. "He'd trained with me for about a week. We wanted to have a look because we don't have a naturally left-sided centre-back. "We don't really have a full-back/centre-back in the squad either. "He's got a decent pedigree and is a free agent. I thought he did fine because he'd trained well with us but only really had one day with the 23's and it's a different game. "We'll hopefully get a further look at him and see how things progress. "It'll be something for the club to look at as a whole, there's attraction because of the attributes I've mentioned, but it would very much be to give us another option rather than him coming in as someone to drop straight into the team." Ross's defensive options have been boosted by the return of Tom Flanagan, who played 90 minutes in the Checkatrade Trophy on Tuesday night. Andonian, 23, has 22 caps for Armenia and spent time on loan at Greek club Veria last season.
Armenian defender Gael Andonian has left Sunderland without signing a deal.The 23-year-old centre-back recently arrived on Wearside for a trial with Jack Ross eager to take a look at his potential. However, the Black Cats boss has essentially admitted that the failure to move Papy Djilobodji and Didier Ndong on means that he will not be able to make any further additions to his squad. Andonian, who has 22 caps for his country, was released by Marseille in the summer after spending time on loan at Greek second tier side Veria last season. He impressed in an 2-1 win for Sunderland U23s against West Brom, which Ross watched alongside assistant James Fowler and first team coach John Potter. Ross had been open to the idea of bringing in a naturally left-sided centre-back capable of filling in at left-back in order to complete his defensive options. He had considered taking another look at Andonian when the U23s take on Norwich City at the Stadium of Light on Sunday. However, a deal will not happen and Ross says he has no serious concerns about the situation. He said: “There’ll be nothing on that. “We had a decision to make in terms of how he fitted into the squad but equally now, we have some things to consider in terms of where we are with Papy and Didier, and how they weren’t resolved before most of those European windows closed. “We need to address those first. “But I’m not complaining about that, I did say at the time that as a squad, we’re in a healthy position in terms of what we’ve got in the time we had to put it together.” Ross had also been keen to add another attacking option in the closing days of the transfer window but the saga with Djilobodji and Ndong meant that was not possible. The situation could also have an impact on what business Ross can do in January, depending on how it develops in the coming months. Ndong remains AWOL while Djilobodji was served notice on his contract earlier this week. Cats boss Ross, however, is pleased with the squad he has managed to build in tough circumstances. Speaking ahead of the game against Burton, he said: “I have to remind myself of that, genuinely. “Early in my tenure I sat in my office on a few occasions and thought, this is a heck of a job in terms of turning this round and how we “piece a squad together. “I was asking myself, ‘who is coming back?’ I honestly had no idea who was going to walk though the door. “First day of pre-season I think we only had 10 or so. You forget that. “If I take myself to being in the barn at the training ground on the first day and doing the testing, we had two groups of five or something like that. “How quickly we’ve got to this stage is encouraging... “I speak to Tony Coton a lot and he’ll say that he thinks we’ve done a really job in terms of getting this together. “We’ll have got some things wrong, that’ll happen and we’ll see that in the fullness of time, we’ll continue to get some things wrong in the future. “But it’s encouraging that we’ve got a lot under real duress in terms of times and circumstance.”
