Sunderland are a club surrounded by uncertainty at the moment.

The Black Cats are without a manager, having terminated Jack Ross' contract on Monday, while the status of the potential takeover bid also appears unclear.

One man who will feel that uncertainty more than others despite not currently being at the club is Ethan Robson.

The 22-year-old is on loan with League Two side Grimsby Town until January and his contract with Sunderland is due to expire in the summer.

The departed Ross is thought to have held Robson in very high regard, so his exit leaves the midfielder in a bit of a strange position.

All he can do for the time being, however, is continue to work hard and put in performances that prove to the club hierarchy and the next manager, whoever that may be, that he deserves a future at the North East club.

He has certainly started the right way as it was announced today that the 22-year-old had won the League Two PFA Fans' Player of the Month Award for September.

We put a spotlight on his performances for the Shrimpers this season to examine just how good he has been.

Robson joined Grimsby on loan on transfer deadline day and has had to get up to speed at the club with the season very much underway.

The 22-year-old has made eight appearances in total for Michael Jolley's side, starting five times and coming off the bench on three occasions.

Jolley has preferred to line his side up in a 4-3-3 formation this season, with Robson regularly on the left-hand side of the midfield three.

That has given the Sunderland man some freedom to get forward, something he has done with great effect so far. Robson has scored three times already in League Two, making him the side's second-highest goalscorer, and provided one assist.

That is not to say that the Englishman has shirked his defensive duties. Robson has worked hard when the opposition are in possession, winning 67.4% of his defensive duels and averaging 7.48 recoveries per game, while his reading of the game has also been impressive–as evidenced by his average of 2.69 interceptions per game.

With the ball at his feet, the Sunderland academy prospect has shown impressive distribution skills, with a pass accuracy of 78%, and, perhaps most usefully to Jolley, a willingness to push the ball into dangerous areas–reflected in the fact that he averages the second most key passes of any player in the squad, according to WhoScored.

Robson appears to settled quickly at Grimsby and looks to have found a rich vein of form. The Black Cats have quite a lot of depth in central midfield at the moment but you can't help but think his positivity is something they could use in the future.

His focus now has to be on continuing to produce high-quality performances for the League Two side as that is surely the best way to secure his future with Sunderland.

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