Marcus Maddison made a bit of news last week as it emerged Sunderland had turned down the chance to sign him in the summer.

Maddison supported Sunderland as a boy but came through the ranks at Newcastle United before joining Gateshead. He wound up at Peterborough and has made a name for himself as a creative and free-scoring left-winger.

This weekend his current employers came up against the club he supported as a boy. These are the sorts of game professionals love to play in, ones where they have a point to prove.

Did Marcus Maddison prove his point this weekend? Our latest spotlight piece attempts to find out.

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Maddison is very effective as a left-winger, but Darren Ferguson has been setting up in a 4-3-1-2 formation. That’s seen George Boyd play on the left of midfield, with Maddison sitting behind Mo Eisa and Ivan Toney up front.

Those three are a deadly trio and in bringing Maddison into the centre they unlocked a different type of threat. He’s now free to prowl the edge of the area, as well as pick up the ball and travel into the channels.

He got two chances this weekend, one in the 36^th minute and one in the 64^th. From two shots he bagged two goals, resulting in his side picking up a 3-0 win.

The change of position didn’t make him any less effective from the flanks though; he still managed to get eight crosses into the box for the hungry strikers. They didn’t manage to score from any though; 25% we successful but that’s not such a bad number.

For a cross to be a success the player receiving it must be on form as well. The best cross in the world is only an invitation for a forward; it’s rarely to feet, rather looking for space which a player can attack. What’s remarkable is that he managed to get out wide and deliver the crosses despite starting in a central position.

He offered plenty of threat outside of the two goals as well. He made three touches in the box as he got forward and helped the strike duo. That’s a decent number for a midfielder, proving he’s able to add serious value to attacking prowess of Toney and Eisa.

He also made three progressive runs, helping his side attack from the deep-lying central role.

Marcus Maddison might have been a Sunderland player this season, but they passed on the chance to sign him. This weekend, he gave them a harsh lesion in exactly what they’re missing, delivering the sort of performance that would have been right at home in at least two positions in the Black Cats 4-2-3-1 formation.