Elliot Embleton opens up on 'strange' feeling of winning promotion with Blackpool ahead of parent club Sunderland

The 22-year-old made a big impact at Bloomfield Road after joining Neil Critchley’s side during the January transfer window.

At the time of his move on deadline day, the Seasiders were 15th in the table, while the Black Cats were seventh and just one point off the top six.

But Embleton would go on to help Blackpool steamroll their way into a play-off spot, making 21 appearances between the start of February right up until the Wembley play-off final.

The Seasiders would end up avoiding Sunderland in the play-offs, instead beating Oxford United over two legs before overcoming Lincoln City - who had seen off the Black Cats in the semi-finals - in the final.

"It was strange," Embleton told Sky Sports.

"When I joined Blackpool they were like 15th in the league and then we had that run of games to get into the play-offs.

"And it was like, 'are Sunderland going to get Blackpool in the semi-final or the final?' We just had to see what happened.

"I didn't really think about it because I knew I couldn't play in the league games. But going into the play-offs it was more about getting the minutes into my legs and playing in all the games.

“It was nice to play, but I always knew if Sunderland got [to the final] I wouldn't have been able to."

Blackpool were keen to bring Embleton back to the Fylde coast on a permanent basis this summer.

But the attacking-midfielder is now firmly part of Lee Johnson’s first-team plans and has enjoyed a strong season to date - even scoring his first goal for his boyhood club in a 2-1 win against MK Dons in August.

With Sunderland sitting pretty in second after their first 10 games, Embleton is keen to add a second straight promotion from League One to his CV.

"It was a massive thing for me to play in a promotion side in this league," Embleton added.

"The promotion helped with the confidence. And playing games, that's what helps to develop you.

“I had a good manager [at Blackpool] who helped develop me tactically and we had a good run of 16 games unbeaten, so everything was good there.

"Playing 20-plus games, playing every week for two months straight, winning games, getting assists and scoring a few goals here and there. It was a massive boost.

"Hopefully coming back into Sunderland now I can use that experience here. I've been here since I was six or seven. It's my club, I want to play here. It's my hometown and my family all support Sunderland. So to see me playing for their team is a big thing."

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