‘Unplayable’, ‘flying and loving it’: Some fans blown away by Sunderland-owned ‘baller’

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A number of fans have taken to Twitter to praise Sunderland midfielder Bali Mumba for his impressive start on loan at South Shields.

The Black Cats youngster is highly rated at the Stadium of Light and has already made 10 first-team appearances for Sunderland, according to Transfermarkt.

Phil Parkinson, who is yet to give Mumba a senior appearance, originally decided against sending him out on loan, in conversation with Chronicle Live in January.

“Bali is still a young lad, really, and he was progressed quickly to the first-team scene – and rightly so, because he is a talent,” said Parkinson.

“He is a player that we want to keep around our club. Do we want to push him into a National League scenario just yet? Probably not.”

However, Mumba has played only once for the senior side this season, in the EFL Trophy, and game time has continued to elude him for much of the campaign.

As a result, the Sunderland hierarchy sanctioned a loan switch to Northern Premier League side South Shields for the rest of the season.

Mumba scored the winner on his debut, helping South Shields to a 1-0 win away at Nantwich, before netting again in the thrilling 5-3 win over FC United of Manchester.

The 18-year-old’s post-match Twitter message after the victory over FCUOM saw plenty of fans send praise his way:

Mumba is contracted to Sunderland until the summer of 2021, according to Transfermarkt.