​SUNDERLAND, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 08: Sunderland player Jules Ahoka applauds the fans after the Premier League 2026/27 match between Sunderland and Chelsea FC at Stadium of Light on November 08, 2026 in Sunderland, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images) | Getty Images Jules Ahoka was handed his first Premier League appearance very early in the 1-0 win over Chelsea, being thrown into the mix with just minutes on the clock after Granit Xhaka went down injured.We’d seen a decent amount of him in other competitions, and few can argue that, either in Europe or the League Cup, he’d looked out of place despite barely playing any senior football before his move from Belgium in the summer.Ahoka came with a promising reputation, but there’s no doubting he was raw – and still is. However, the way he’s settled into the side is both a relief and exciting. There was a belief that he’d come in to be Xhaka’s understudy, and recent displays have left us feeling positive.If Ahoka is set to enjoy a breakthrough season in the Premier League, he’ll be another success story for Sunderland, proving it’s worth giving a youth player a first-team chance. Since Kyril Louis-Dreyfus took over, a recurring theme under the club’s head coaches has been trusting young players in the side.Some of these have been academy products, and although many have come and gone in the last few years, Chris Rigg is an example of a player who has been patient and earned his chance in the top flight and Europe.Timur Tutyerov, who joined the club as a teenager, has been trusted to lead the line on numerous occasions this season and has two goals to his name in six starts. It’s all about having faith in these players, and we’re seeing the rewards coming through with some top performances this season from the likes of Tutyerov and Ahoka.During the Championship promotion season, we were often told we didn’t have the experience to achieve anything and that our reliance on youth would be our downfall. This was followed by claims that we would struggle in the Premier League because we had too many young players without top-flight experience.As we reach the quarter-way mark of this third season of the RLB era, youth plays a key role in our team, whether that be through players we’ve signed from overseas or players produced and/or developed on Wearside.Ahoka is the talk of the town at the moment, and rightly so, but it’s probably not a bad idea to err on the side of caution and not get too carried away. However, he could end up playing a big role in the next few games if the injury that forced Xhaka off early against Chelsea is worse than anticipated.We’ve got a weekend off now, which I think is well timed – it’s always nice to go into an international break with a win under your belt. If, at Villa Park in just over a week’s time, Ahoka lines up alongside his countryman Noah Sadiki in the middle of the park at the expense of Xhaka, I’ll not be too concerned.We