Born on this day is current Sunderland defender and former Coventry captain, Jordan Willis. The defender is currently in the middle of a major injury which may keep him out of action until 2022.
Willis grew up in Coventry, and was a part of their youth setup. He made his debut in 2011, as a substitute in a 4-2 loss to Southampton. At 17 years old, he became the Sky Blues’ tenth youngest player of all time. His first start came in a 3-2 win over Birmingham in the 2012 League Cup.
Initially, due to his pace and lack of height, he was deployed at right back. He solidified his place in the first team, and when Coventry switched to a back three, he began to play as a centre back. He nailed the position down and in the following season, he was named captain for the first time against Crewe.
After eight years at his boyhood club, the defender came to Sunderland on a free after rejecting a new contract. He arrived alongside Coventry teammate Lee Burge, who at the time seemed like decent competition for Jon McLaughlin. Willis’ pace, composure and physicality was a breath of fresh air after having a season of Ozturk, Baldwin and Flanagan. He was an instant fan favourite, and stood in as captain a number of times.
Under Phil Parkinson, Willis was utilised as an overlapping centre-half, similar to how Sheffield United played under Chris Wilder. Perhaps that’s too generous on Parky! The best example of this was in a 4-0 win over Wycombe, where Willis got down the line and fizzed a ball across the box for Denver Hume to finish.
He began to struggle with injury niggles shortly before Parkinson was sacked, but they seemed short term and it wasn’t a major concern. However, when Jordan went off after just 7 minutes against Shrewsbury, everyone knew it looked serious. That match was in February, and he hasn’t played a minute of football since. After a major setback in April, he isn’t projected to get back onto the grass until 2022 and may never be the same player again.
Comments