Gus a Giacc fan and may change to 442

When Emanuele Giaccherini joined Sunderland from Juventus for around £8.5m in the summer of 2013 he was hyped as a marquee signing capable of raising the bar at the Stadium of Light. Yet within weeks of his arrival Paolo Di Canio was sacked as manager and the Italy attacking midfielder found himself sidelined by Gus Poyet and overwhelmed by culture shock.

It led to Giaccherini missing the World Cup but he returned for pre-season in vibrant form and now Poyet believes he is virtually like “a new signing”. “Giacchi was one of the players who suffered most last season,” said Sunderland’s manager. “It was difficult for him, coming to a new country, things not going very well. He was one of the biggest signings, a lot was expected of him. Then the new manager came in and didn’t play him.


“It was a very difficult season for him. I think that most people would have given up and gone home but he is not that character. He took missing out on the World Cup in an incredible way – in a way I would not have done.

“Then he came back to us in incredible form with lots of adrenaline. He wanted to show us who he is. The whole of pre-season we have talked about Giaccherini. I promise you the whole of it.”

Along the way Poyet has radically altered his opinion of a player he had suggested was not suited to English football and did not fit into Sunderland’s tactical blueprint. If the process began when Giaccherini made some telling, vital goal creating, substitute appearances as Sunderland made their great escape from relegation last spring, recent weeks have confirmed Poyet’s hunch he had misjudged a 29-year-old expected to start at home to Tottenham on Saturday after impressing on international duty with Italy.



“Giacchi is one of our biggest signings this summer and I am being serious,” said Poyet who was prevented from selecting the midfielder by a niggling injury last month. “I know where I can play him, how he fits in.

“He’s just played two 90 minutes for Italy and I have changed my mind completely about him. Giacchi has made me happy. I think he’s going to be great for us. I see him as a new player, a totally new player. “

With Ricky Álvarez, another attacking midfielder, newly arrived from Internazionale on a season long loan, now on his books and Connor Wickham and Steven Fletcher two strikers keen to be deployed in central attacking roles, Poyet is pondering a switch to 4-4-2.

The Uruguayan has generally remained faithful to variants of 4-1-4-1 or 4-3-3 but is contemplating change, particularly as Wickham is being played out of position wide on the left at present. “Playing with two strikers is an option even if it is not the right one for me right now,” said Poyet.

“It depends on the next couple of games, my team is comfortable now because every player has a role and they know it but, at the same time I’m not happy with Connor playing wide. I need him in the middle. We are more dangerous when we play with two strikers and I love 4-4-2. But to play that way you need an understanding of how to cover the pitch and I didn’t think this team had that last season.”