The January transfer window is already shaping up to be a busy one for Sunderland, and one young star has now landed a perfect loan move away from the club.
Already this month, we have seen Sunderland land the big name signing of Enzo Le Fee to boost their promotion hopes.
Meanwhile, Aaron Connolly looks set to depart for Millwall on a free transfer, leaving space for what many hope will be Sunderland’s next signing — a new striker.
Now, the Black Cats have arranged a temporary exit that will benefit all parties, as young defender Zak Johnson joins Notts County on loan for the rest of the season.
Zak Johnson thinks Notts County will be ‘great’ fit for him
On Monday night, Sunderland confirmed Johnson would join League Two promotion-chasers Notts County for the rest of the campaign, just days after he took to the pitch in Sunderland’s FA Cup defeat to Stoke City.
Discussing the move, Sunderland Academy manager, Robin Nicholls said: “Zak is at a stage in his career where he has gained some excellent experiences, with two senior loans and a youth international selection under his belt.
“We are delighted that he will be spending the second half of the season with Stuart’s side and we firmly believe that he will be able to play an important role in Notts County achieving their goals.”
Johnson is clearly happy with the move, too, with Notts County sharing a clip on Twitter/X of the young defender sharing the reasons he wanted to join them.
Johnson said: “The way that Notts County play football, it’s really possession-based and they move the ball nice and quickly, and I feel that relates to what Sunderland do in the Championship so it was a great loan both on and off the pitch.”
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Sunderland youngsters need loan moves this month
Regis Le Bris clearly has a great handle on his Sunderland squad, and the Frenchman knows what players he wants and those that he doesn’t need (at least in the here and now).
Johnson is a great young talent, but he is much better-served by going on loan now rather than warming the bench for the first-team, and there is no doubt he has a bright future.
Now, the club needs to make decisions on Trey Ogunsuyi and Harrison Jones — who just made his full debut for Sunderland — with the young pair surely due to go out on loan this month, too.
With the senior players thriving and pushing for promotion right now, there will be less opportunities for the academy players to break through, but that doesn’t mean they can’t take positive steps in their career elsewhere.