While Sunderland will likely be looking to add to their squad in January, there is one player currently out on loan that they need to deal with, too.
Sunderland are still flying high in the Championship despite a poor run of form letting them down of late, with their incredible start to the season keeping them in the top six as it stands.
When it comes to transfers for Sunderland heading into January, the club will surely be looking to bolster Regis Le Bris’ squad in the hopes of getting their promotion push back on track.
However, Le Bris has mentioned that developing Sunderland’s youngsters is a priority, and one of them faces an important month ahead of the transfer window opening up.
Matty Young has to start for Salford City, or the deal is off
Matty Young is currently on loan at Salford City, but has only featured in the cup competitions for them so far this season.
In the FA Cup second round, Young put in a Player of the Match performance between the sticks for Salford to see them through to the third round draw, where they pulled a dream tie against Manchester City.
But, according to the Sunderland Echo, if Young does not start getting opportunities in League Two for Salford, he will be recalled by the Black Cats next month.
There is a clause in Young’s agreement that could see Kristjaan Speakman trigger an early termination on the loan spell and bring him back to Sunderland, with a view to arranging a new, more suitable loan move that will give Young more first-team action.
Apparently, Salford are now strongly considering replacing their current number one goalkeeper, Jamie Jones, with Young for their next league game after his heroics in the FA Cup.
Salford have six league games between now and the New Year, and Sunderland eyes will be firmly fixed on their clash with Harrogate Town on Tuesday night to see if Young gets his opportunity.
Win-win situation for Matty Young and Sunderland
In many ways, Matty Young can’t lose out in this situation, at least in the long-term. Yes, it would be frustrating for him to sit on the bench for the next month, but if that happens he can rest assured he will be recalled and sent to a different club where he will get his chance to show what he can do.
Alternatively, he gets the nod from Salford for the next game and has a big opportunity to make the starting spot his own for the rest of the season.
Tony Mowbray previously described Matty Young as an ‘amazing’ talent, and his current teammate, Anthony Patterson recently said Young will ‘go far’ after seeing him in training for Sunderland.
With Young getting a new contract at Sunderland just last week, a good cup performance on his CV, and the prospect of a new move in January, things are looking bright for the 18-year-old regardless of how the next month plays out at Salford.