One of Manchester Citys home grown prospects that few people had heard of before his loan on Wearside. Sunderland had struggled for a right full back for more than a year: the previous loan of Alan Hutton had been expected to be made permanent though the fee had put Steve Bruce off. Therefore, he again ventured into the loan market to produce this gem of a young player. Very much overshadowed by the rise and possible fall of team-mate Micah Richards for the sky blues, Onuoha possessed the same approximate build, pace and other matching attributes. They perhaps had the same affliction too, both expecting their pace to always get them out of trouble when caught out going forward - though, in fairness, in his time on Wearside that didnt appear a problem for Onuoha. Bruce even commented early in his loan with the Black Cats how he was unfazed at the prospect of facing Gareth Bale, as few people outpace Nedum. True, his defensive abilities certainly helped fans forget Alan Hutton. But it wasnt only at the back he excelled; in the moment most remembered, Sunderland smashed Chelseas fabulous home record with Onuoha getting the scoring underway with a brilliant mazy run Messi would have been happy with.
