'Smarter': The key change Brian Brobbey has made at Sunderland to take his game to the next level

Brian Brobbey believes a better awareness of the game around him has been the key to his superb recent form at Sunderland.

Brobbey has established himself as one of the key players in Régis Le Bris's side since his arrival from Ajax on deadline day last summer, and marked his encouraging progress with a brilliant hattrick at Manchester City. Brobbey is currently on international duty with the Netherlands, with his Premier League form earning him a recall earlier this year.

Speaking ahead of the clash with Germany earlier this week, Brobbey explained how his work to reduce the number of duels he has with opposition defenders has helped to improve his game.

“I always try to improve," Brobbey said.

"Watching footage to see what I can do better, things like that. So I just try to keep it up To be faster and smarter than your opponent. I’ve started looking around me better. I know better where my defender is standing, and that makes it a bit easier for me as well.”

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In an interview with ESPN, Brobbey's personal coach Patrick Woerst opened up on the work the pair have been doing behind the scenes. Brobbey links up regularly with Woerst when not on Wearside and the coach says his ability to avoid regular physical duels is helping him to stay fresh and sharp throughout games.

“Brian hasn’t necessarily become fitter or stronger,” Woerst said. “People see it as extra fitness – or that he is stronger or more mature – but he has also started playing much more efficiently. For instance, he gets into tackles much less.

“When he received a ball, during his time at Ajax it was very often from a standstill. He would stop the ball and hang back. Then you get into a fight, because those defenders grab you and you start hanging and wrestling. That takes a lot of energy every time.

"At Ajax, he had I-don't-know-how-many ground duels. So at a certain point, he was already exhausted after an hour. He doesn't have that now, because he has fewer duels. He has mainly started playing smarter. That has an effect on his energy."

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