James Copley’s Sunderland notebook: Inside pre-season’s strange waiting room and a local goalkeeper living his childhood dream
James Copley looks at Sunderland’s returning fringe players and a local goalkeeper living his Academy of Light dream
Before getting into this week’s notebook, I wanted to say a genuine thank you to everyone who has stuck with it since its inception.
It has quickly become one of the most enjoyable parts of my working week – a chance to pull together the smaller details, conversations and bits of context that do not always fit neatly into a traditional news story. It is not lost on me that times are hard financially. If you are choosing to pay to read my words, I would like to thank you personally. I genuinely appreciate that support and never take it for granted.
This week’s edition looks at the strange reality facing several Sunderland players who have returned to the Academy of Light despite their futures appearing to lie elsewhere. There is also an update on the club’s seemingly never-ending production line of goalkeepers – including another local lad beginning what he hopes will be a long journey in red and white.
Sunderland’s players in limbo return to the Academy of Light
It is a really strange time of year for footballers who find themselves in limbo. The Academy of Light will be buzzing now that the players have returned, with the usual excitement and optimism that accompanies the beginning of pre-season, but there is also plenty of uncertainty beneath the surface.
Players who supporters may have almost forgotten about are suddenly back in the building, wearing Sunderland training gear and working alongside familiar faces again. Some will have spent the previous season elsewhere, while others will already know that the club would be willing to move them on before the transfer window closes.
Anthony Patterson is one of those players. The goalkeeper is expected to leave Sunderland this summer, but he has returned to the Academy of Light and is currently training alongside the club’s senior goalkeepers while his future is resolved. There is nothing particularly unusual about that from a footballing perspective. Patterson remains a Sunderland player and needs to maintain his fitness and sharpness, while the club also need to be prepared for every eventuality until a suitable move is agreed. Still, there is something slightly surreal about it.
Leo Hjelde, Jenson Seelt, Aji Alese, Arthur Masuaku and Alan Browne have also returned following loan spells with Sheffield United, Wolfsburg, Portsmouth, RC Lens and Middlesbrough respectively. They are Sunderland players again for the time being, but you would be surprised if any of those names featured regularly for the club in the Premier League next season – with the possible exception of Seelt.
Seelt remains the most intriguing of the group because there is still a feeling that a fit and confident version of the Dutch defender could have something to offer. His Sunderland career has been severely disrupted by injury, though, and there remains some uncertainty over exactly where he is physically following his latest setback.
Hjelde’s situation is interesting for a slightly different reason. The defender is unlikely to be considered a prominent first-team option, but he does count as association-trained under UEFA’s squad registration rules following his time with clubs in England during the relevant development years.
That does not suddenly guarantee him a place in Sunderland’s European squad, of course, and it may not alter the club’s broader plans for his future. It is, however, an extra consideration at a time when Sunderland must balance the quality of their squad with the various registration requirements attached to competing in Europe. For the players themselves, the dynamic must be incredibly strange. They are human beings, after all, and they will be returning to a familiar workplace, catching up with old friends and teammates and becoming part of the wider group again – at least temporarily.
At the same time, there will be an acceptance in some cases that they are going to leave and that it is essentially just a matter of when. Some will know that Sunderland are actively trying to find a solution, while others may be waiting for an agent to call and tell them where they could be living and playing next season.
Footballers are extremely well paid and understand the nature of the industry, but that does not remove the uncertainty. They have partners, children, homes and careers to consider, often without knowing what their life will look like in a few weeks. That must be difficult to deal with.
Sunderland’s goalkeeper production line keeps chuntering on
Talking of goalkeepers, Sunderland’s production line continues to chunter along. Everyone knows the stories of Jordan Pickford and Patterson, but the club’s history of developing capable goalkeepers stretches far beyond those two academy graduates.
Toby Bell came through Sunderland’s system before being poached by Chelsea. Trevor Carson went on to enjoy a solid career in the game, as did Ben Alnwick, while you can go further back and point towards the likes of David Preece, Jimmy Montgomery and Jimmy Thorpe.
Jonny Maddison also emerged through Sunderland’s academy before returning to the club in a coaching capacity. Mark Prudhoe, meanwhile, has become a hugely influential figure behind the scenes and continues to play an important role in the development of the club’s young goalkeepers after starting his career at Sunderland.
Even when those players do not go on to establish themselves in Sunderland’s first team, the club has regularly produced goalkeepers capable of building good careers elsewhere. Adam Richardson and Dan Cameron are two recent examples who have now moved on but retain a genuine chance of making their way in the professional game. There is now another local cab off the rank. Josh Jones is a highly-rated young goalkeeper who has developed through Sunderland’s academy and signed a two-year scholarship.
Jones has already represented his country and gained valuable experience across Sunderland’s under-16 and under-18 groups. He is regarded as a modern goalkeeper – an excellent shot-stopper who is also comfortable receiving possession and using the ball with his feet. Perhaps most importantly, Jones understands exactly what the opportunity means. I am told he has been a Sunderland season-ticket holder since he was around two years old, so signing his scholarship represents the fulfilment of a childhood dream.
Those around him are also conscious that this is only the beginning. Sunderland’s recent success has raised expectations across every area of the club, including the academy, and Jones will need to listen, learn and continue developing if he is to become the best goalkeeper he can possibly be. He could hardly be in a better environment to do that. “Pruds”, as Prudhoe is affectionately known, has been an outstanding mentor and coach throughout Jones’ journey so far, offering the kind of knowledge, support and understanding that can be invaluable to a young goalkeeper.
Jones is said to be enjoying the experience and has been described as a grounded young man with a good head on his shoulders. There is an enormous amount of work ahead, as there is for every scholar beginning that journey, but he is currently living the dream.
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We wish him well alongside Sunderland’s other promising young goalkeepers – Joe Cowan, Ben Metcalf and Isaac Allan. They are all at different stages of their development, but each will hope to become the next name to emerge from a production line that has served Sunderland remarkably well over the years. Not all of them will eventually stand between the posts for Sunderland’s first team. History tells us, however, that the Academy of Light usually produces someone capable of having a very good career in the game.