Jerome Sinclair only turned 22 this month, but he will feel he is well ready to give lift-off to his career after a couple of subpar seasons.

The majority of his career is still ahead of him, but Sinclair will feel that Sunderland is the place to really get it started after a poor stint at Watford and Birmingham.

He didn’t cut it with relegation-threatened Birmingham, so made a risky decision to drop down a further division.

That decision was not easy for a player who graduated through the ranks at Anfield, with a growing reputation that he could be good enough for Liverpool’s first team.

Despite all this, it has been a slow start to his Sunderland career. Sinclair has started just once in the league for the Black Cats due to injuries and form of other players, but that was the loss to Burton.

The form of Josh Maja has made it hard for Sinclair to break into the starting eleven, but he will feel he can form a lethal partnership with the young striker.

Maja has taken the league by storm and stands top of the division’s scoring charts with seven, making him the obvious first choice, but Sinclair will get his chance to stake a claim for a starting berth.

It isn’t quite ‘now or never’ for Sinclair, but if he is to forge a good career, Sunderland in League One would be the place to start it.

For one reason or another it didn’t work at Watford or Birmingham, so taking a step back to take one forward sounds a good plan for Sinclair.

Maintaining fitness is the key and after that, goals and form will come.