Sunderland midfielder Jobe Bellingham has named former Black Cat Seb Larsson as his favourite “streets won’t forget” footballer of all time.
The Swede established himself as a cult hero over the course of a six-year stint on Wearside, racking up in excess of 200 appearances and scoring 14 goals in the process. Larsson would eventually leave the Stadium of Light on a free transfer in 2017, joining Hull City for a season before returning to his home country.
But prior to his spell in red and white, the now-retired Scandinavian was on the books at Bellingham’s boyhood club Birmingham City, and seemingly made a huge impact on the teenage sensation. Hopping on the popular nostalgic social media trend that has celebrated the best players of the Barclays Premier League era in recent weeks, Sunderland asked several members of their squad to name their favourite “streets won’t forget” player – talents who might not have been the biggest names in the professional game, but who won a cult-like appreciation from supporters during their careers nonetheless. When asked for his contribution, Bellingham responded: “Seb Larsson”, before adding, “Blues… when I was younger, I used to love him”.
Other members of Regis Le Bris’ squad took a slightly different approach to the question, with Chris Rigg cheekily suggesting teammate Patrick Roberts, while Luke O’Nien named captain Dan Neil as his pick.
For his part, Neil has been speaking highly of another Black Cats player in recent days, praising winger Romaine Mundle for the impact he has had on the first team since replacing the departed Jack Clarke in Sunderland’s starting XI. He said: “Romaine has been brilliant. It was tough for him when he first came in because Jack was kind of the main man but even from the start of pre-season, I think he’s been one of the best players in the group and especially in training
“Jack has gone to the Premier League and we’re all buzzing for him personally, he earned that chance to step up. That’s give Romaine the chance to step up and try to fill those shoes and I think he could sank or swam really, and he’s definitely swam. He’s improving from game to game, he’s been brilliant so far and long may that continue.”
