Sunderland’s squad is packed with an abundance of quality young players, but one starlet has now been touted as someone who can go right to the very top.
While Sunderland continue to fight it out at the summit of the Championship, it’s worth remembering just how young and inexperienced many of their players actually are.
But, with the likes of Chris Rigg and Jobe Bellingham flourishing in the first-team, Regis Le Bris would be wise to keep a close eye on one Sunderland prospect who is thriving out on loan this season.
Of all the Sunderland players on loan right now, none are having a better time than Matty Young, and his impressive form continued this weekend.
Matty Young continues to excel on loan at Salford City
The goalkeeper has had to fight for his place at Salford City, but since claiming the number one spot, he has not let go, and he is now proving to be instrumental to his side’s success and Young has become undroppable as things stand.
Young now ranks top in the EFL when it comes to clean sheet percentages, and he’s added another to his statistics in the recent 1-0 win over MK Dons on Saturday afternoon.
His display caught the eye of Sunderland expert James Copley, who took to Twitter/X to write: “Top, top prospect. Another player of the match performance today.”
Meanwhile, Jack Kenmare of SPORTbible made a bold prediction about the 18-year-old, saying Young “has been unbelievable of late. Future Premier League goalkeeper, no doubt.”
Young himself was more humble, of course, with his post-match thoughts focusing on the team rather than his own achievements. He wrote: “Tremendous performance from the team, another win and clean sheet, let’s keep pushing for more.”
2025/26 could be huge for Matty Young, but will Sunderland keep him?
If things continue at the current rate, Matty Young will not only help Salford fight for promotion this season, but he could end up fast-tracking himself into Le Bris’ plans for next season, too.
Of course, Young would find Anthony Patterson in his way there, but Sunderland’s number one is heavily linked with a move away from the Stadium of Light.
One thing’s for sure, though, if Patterson does leave, Young can step in and become the Black Cats’ next homegrown hero between the sticks.
If Patterson were to stay, we could yet see Young get another loan move for next season, to get a better idea of what he can do at a higher level.