A Sunderland academy academy graduate has been compared to Everton and England number one Jordan Pickford by his current manager while out on loan this season.
Sunderland starlet Matty Young continues to impress during his loan spell at League Two Salford City after his side’s latest win came in a 3-2 comeback at Bromley.
Academy of Light graduate Young has been in stellar form for the Ammies this season, keeping eight clean sheets from 12 League Two outings whilst conceding only seven goals.
Before last weekend’s win at Grimsby, Young had not featured for Karl Robinson’s side since late January in their 2-1 win at Cheltenham, in which he made three crucial saves and commanded his box confidently to help secure Salford victory.
Two weeks prior to that win, the 18-year-old shotstopper started between the sticks against Manchester City in Salford’s 8-0 FA Cup defeat at the Etihad.
Sunderland will be pleased with Young’s return to the Salford starting XI, and even more so with his rate of development as the future Black Cats No. 1 sent a stern mission statement to his Salford teammates.
Matty Young tells Salford teammates to ‘keep pushing’
Young impressed once more for Salford this weekend, making two pivotal saves against Bromley to help secure his side’s victory.
Following Saturday’s win at Bromley, Sunderland loanee Young told his Salford teammates to ‘keep pushing’ ahead of their League Two play-off battle. Young said: “Scrappy 3 points but another win away from home and eight games left in the league, let’s keep pushing!!”
One Salford supporter’s comment on Young’s social media post highlighted the impact that the Sunderland loanee has had at the Ammies. They joked: “One more year one more year Matty Young.”
Sunderland starlet Young took his impressive form from the most recent international break into League Two action after he added another milestone to his first full season in senior football.
Young made his debut for England’s under-20s side in a 1-1 draw against Portugal in the under-2- Elite League clash in an evening he described as “an honour”.
Matty Young could reach levels of Jordan Pickford
Salford boss Robinson has earlier in this season insisted that Young has shown similarities to fellow Sunderland academy graduate goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
Robinson told ChronicleLive in January: “His maturity, he’s just way above people of that age. He’s so controlling in his processes and the direction he wants to go in. Jordan (Pickford) is very similar, I think the way he’s brought up playing at Sunderland has massively had an influence. And Young is no different to that.”
| Key statistic | Matty Young on loan at Salford this season in League Two |
| Games played | 12 |
| Clean sheets | 8 |
| Goals conceded | 7 |
| Save percentage | 79% |
| Errors led to goal | 0 |
| Saves | 26 |
Whether Young will go on to star in the Premier League and make over 75 appearances for England as fellow Sunderland youngster Pickford has remains to be seen yet. However, one thing is for certain is that Young is destined for the top.
Anthony Patterson is currently Sunderland’s number one, but Patterson has often made errors this season, and suffered a poor run of form prior to the international break in which he conceded seven goals from five games.
Despite only being 18-years-old, the future could not be brighter for Young. If the shot-stopping starlet continues to impress as Salford hunts promotion to League One, then he will return to Wearside this summer after his loan stint able to stake a serious claim for Sunderland’s goalkeeping jersey under Regis Le Bris.