It's safe to say that it's not been the start that Phil Parkinson would have originally hoped for with Sunderland, with the former Bolton boss only having two league wins to his name since taking charge. 

It means that the Black Cats are currently sat seventh in the League One table, and Parkinson will be keen to see his side find some consistency in their results at the earliest of opportunities.

One player that has stood out for the newly-appointed Sunderland boss though is Luke O'Nien, with the 24-year-old putting in a number of impressive performances of late.

There has been some debate as to where O'Nien's best position is though, as he's been used in a number of different areas in the Sunderland team so far this season.

In our latest FLW Spotlight, we look into O'Nien's stats when deployed as a CAM in the Sunderland team this season, and see whether he would be a good fit for that position on a regular basis.

O'Nien has often been used either at right-back or in the CAM role, but due to various injuries in Parkinson's squad this season, he's struggled for consistency in one position.

But with Conor McLaughlin recently returning to the first team picture, Phil Parkinson has given O'Nien more of a licence to play in a more attack-minded position.

The midfielder has played 346 minutes in the central attacking-midfield position, and his statistics have to be taken with 'a pinch of salt' baring in mind that he hasn't been consistently in this area of the pitch on a regular basis.

O'Nien has one goal and one assist to his name here though, with his first goal of the season in this area coming in a recent win over relegation-threatened Southend United last weekend.

It shows that he's getting in the right positions to be an attacking threat for Sunderland as they look to challenge for a timely promotion back into the Championship this season.

The 24-year-old is clearly a tricky player to come up against as he's been fouled 12 times whilst playing in the CAM position, and Phil Parkinson will be hoping that O'Nien can stay fit for the remainder of this year's campaign.

His passing statistics make for impressive reading, with O'Nien having a pass accuracy of 75.8% from the 128 passes that he has attempted from this position this season.

He also has four successful dribbles to his name this term, and will be hoping to build on some strong performances heading into the potentially season-defining festive period.

These statistics suggest that O'Nien's best position could well be as a central attacking-midfielder, and with the likes of Aiden McGeady and Chris Maguire either side of him in the attacking areas, Sunderland are more than likely to be challenging for promotion to the Championship again this season.