Trevan Sanusi hasn’t kicked on as expected since leaving Birmingham City in 2023
Trevan Sanusi in action for Newcastle United during a pre-season friendly
The name Jude Bellingham will forever be synonymous with Birmingham City – Trevan Sanusi less so.
Bellingham broke Trevor Francis’s record to become Blues’ youngest ever player when he made his debut aged 16 years and 38 days against Portsmouth in 2019.
He went on to become a fixture in Blues’ starting XI that season before moving to Borussia Dortmund and becoming a superstar with Real Madrid and England.
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But, back in 2023, Sanusi came close to taking Bellingham’s record.
The talented left-winger spent a large part of the 2022/23 season on the fringes of the first team and was handed a place in the squad on the final day against Sheffield United.
It’s a day remembered for Tom Wagner and Knighthead’s first official visit to St Andrew’s after a deal was struck for the Americans to take control of the club.
But Sanusi would have had his day in the sun had John Eustace introduced him as a substitute. Eustace plumped for others and Sanusi, who has just celebrated his 16th birthday, was one of two unused substitutes.
Speculation was rife over whether Sanusi would commit to a scholarship with Blues and, despite their best attempts to woo the teenager, he joined Premier League side Newcastle United in the summer.
Sanusi committed to a scholarship with Newcastle before penning his first professional contract in 2024, signing an extension in 2025 shortly after his one and only first team appearance for the Magpies.
A 20-minute cameo off the bench in an FA Cup third round victory over League Two Bromley remains the only first team outing of Sanusi’s career on Tyneside.
A loan to Ligue 1 side Lorient was supposed to be the springboard Sanusi’s career required, but it’s been anything but.
Sanusi arrived in France with an ankle injury last summer and has never really recovered. He’s only made the bench five times in Ligue 1 and played two games against lower league opposition in the French Cup.
Lorient head coach Olivier Pantaloni has rather brutally claimed Sanusi, now 19, isn’t ready to play in Ligue 1.
“He’s a kid who must have suffered from the situation,” Pantaloni said. “He’s always persevered.
“If Newcastle took a chance on him, it’s because they saw potential in him for the future. When you come from there, you want to play as much as possible.
“We didn’t give him the opportunity because we felt he wasn’t quite ready for Ligue 1.”
Sanusi is expected to target another loan move next season and he won’t be short of suitors based on potential.
But you have to wonder how many first team appearances he would have racked up by now had he stayed at Blues three years ago.
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