Luis Hemir forcing his way into Sunderland consideration, admits Michael Beale

Michael Beale believes he has some serious competition in forward areas, with Luis Hemir firing himself into the head coach’s thoughts in midweek.

Hemir put in a fine performance for the under-21s this week, scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win over Bristol City.

It comes at a time when Mason Burstow and Nazariy Rusyn have also scored in the last two games, and Beale is happy to be seeing players forcing their way into consideration.

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“Mason and Nazariy scored in the last couple of games,” Beale said. “Semedo (Hemir) scored in the B team in midweek and Adil [Aouchiche] got an assist.

“So, in that sense, people are pushing each other and that's what you want.”

It was Rusyn who was the hero against Middlesbrough, scoring with a fine long-range strike late on in the contest.

For many, Rusyn’s goal and impact should have ended the striker debate, and Beale says he does intend to use the Ukrainian.

However, he is still quite open on what position he should be playing in and how to get the best out of him.

Asked specifically about Rusyn, Beale said: “He is right in my thoughts to play across the front three, I'd say.

“I think he's a bit of a hybrid. He's not just the number nine. It'd be unfair of me to say that Naz is just the number nine because he likes to pull wide, he likes to dribble. He's moving down the side. His energy is really good.

“In the next three games, you're certainly going to be seeing Rusyn playing.”

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