One Sunderland player has been praised for recent performances after leaving on loan in January.
Sunderland currently have seven players out on loan in Jewison Bennette, Eliezer Mayenda, Jay Matete, Nectarios Triantis, Jack Diamond, Alex Bass and Joe Anderson.
While the latter two joined AFC Wimbledon and Shrewsbury Town respectively last summer, the remaining five players headed out on loan last month, with the club overloaded with young talent.
Many of the club’s youngsters have been unable to make an impact on the senior team this season, while Jack Diamond hasn’t even made an appearance since a 2-1 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday in August 2022.
The 24-year-old came up through the Sunderland academy and was very highly regarded as he made 26 appearances in League One in his breakthrough campaign.
Diamond then went on three loan spells with Harrogate Town where he scored 18 goals and provided seven assists, before arriving at Lincoln City on a season-long loan in the summer.
The winger really impressed at Sincil Bank, bagging 13 goal contributions before finding himself in legal trouble that saw him return to Wearside before he was suspended by Sunderland.
Diamond has cleared of his charges in January though, and weeks later he had joined League One club Carlisle United.
After going almost a year without playing football, Diamond has now started five of Carlisle’s last six games in the third tier, though his minutes have been limited as he regains his fitness.
After featuring in The Blues’ win over Burton Albion midweek, manager Paul Simpson was eager to praise Diamond for his progress.
When asked whether it was Diamond’s best game for the club on their official YouTube channel, Simpson said: “Absolutely. He’s gaining confidence, gaining fitness.
“We pushed him a bit higher up alongside Luke Armstrong tonight and they have got a good relationship off the pitch and you could see that tonight. They were talking to each other, they were working together.
“He showed some lovely pieces of skill on a really tricky surface. So hopefully he’s starting to find his feet properly and get fitter.”
Should Sunderland keep Jack Diamond?
Jack Diamond really impressed during loan spells with Harrogate Town and Lincoln City, though his development as a player always just seemed a bit behind our own progression.
The attacker never really seemed good enough for League One when we were there, but then went onto smash it for Lincoln once we reached the Championship.
With everything that has happened and his long spell away from football, it feels safe to say that we wouldn’t be able to reach the standard required of the Black Cats anytime soon.
League One is probably Diamond’s level and I imagine that is where he will end up permanently next season, with his contract at the Stadium of Light set to expire in the summer.
We already have the likes of Romaine Mundle, Abdoullah Ba and Jewison Bennette as young, exciting wingers, so it is hard to see where Diamond would fit in.