Nordi Mukiele

Mukiele's career has been built on exactly the kind of positional flexibility most defenders never develop, moving between right back and centre back across spells in Germany and France without either role diminishing him. His recovery speed lets him play higher up the pitch than a typical centre back would risk, closing down attackers who think they have found space behind him. That athleticism, more than any single defensive trick, is what clubs at the highest level valued in him.

At Sunderland the question is less about ability than fit, since a defender this versatile can end up as backup everywhere rather than first choice anywhere. Managers who rotate formations tend to love that flexibility, while managers who want settled partnerships can undervalue it. Watch which role Le Bris settles him into most often, because that choice says plenty about how Sunderland want to defend.