Doubts over futures of ex-Man Utd and Portsmouth men as Sunderland as face Premier League transfer interest

As Sunderland assess their squad and potential signings ahead of this summer’s transfer window, the goalkeeping department appears to be an area which is pretty settled.

Academy graduate Anthony Patterson is clearly the club’s first-choice stopper and started 112 consecutive league games (including play-offs) before being rested against Sheffield Wednesday on the final day of the 2023/24 season. There has been interest in the 24-year-old from Premier League clubs, yet Sunderland are in a strong position after agreeing a new contract with the player last summer, which will run until 2028.

Of course a move away can’t be completely ruled out, with the possibility of a big offer which would give the Black Cats a decision to make. Yet it seems likely Patterson, who has talked about his pride playing for his boyhood club, will remain on Wearside for at least another season. His calmness between the sticks should continue to give Sunderland an element of consistency.

Assuming Patterson does stay this summer, the club’s other goalkeepers are unlikely to receive much first-team football. Both Alex Bass and Nathan Bishop have found that to be the case since arriving from Portsmouth and Manchester United respectively over the last two years, with the pair making just one Championship appearance between them.

At 26, Bass is at a stage in his career where he’ll want to be playing regularly, hence the decision to join League Two side AFC Wimbledon on loan last summer. It turned out to be a favourable move, with the player starting 44 league games and impressing at Plough Lane.

Whether it’s to Wimbledon or another EFL club, it seems likely Bass will move on again this summer to pursue first-team opportunities. He has one year left on his Sunderland contract, meaning a permanent move away may be on the cards rather than another loan.

Like Bass did the previous season, Bishop commendably acted as a back-up option for Patterson during the 2023/24 campaign. The 24-year-old has two years left on his Sunderland contract and isn’t a player the club will actively be looking to move on. 

Still, like Bass, the Black Cats would probably allow Bishop to explore other options if the player wanted to challenge himself elsewhere. If that is the case and the 24-year-old does leave this summer, possibly on loan, Sunderland would obviously need a replacement.

That replacement could come from within, with Adam Richardson playing regularly for Sunderland’s under-21s side at the end of the 2023/24 campaign. The 20-year-old was set to be part of the first-team squad for last summer’s pre-season tour of America but suffered multiple injury setbacks in the second half of last year.

Richardson, who is under contract until 2026, is also at an age where he needs to experience more regular first-team football. The club did explore a potential loan move for the stopper earlier this year, yet a deal didn’t materialise. 

While looking to loan out some of their emerging academy players, Sunderland will also want to keep their under-21s group in good condition after reaching the final of Premier League 2 last month. Teenage stopper Matty Young is highly rated at the Academy of Light and recently impressed during a loan spell at Darlington in National League North. Depending on what happens with the aforementioned keepers, Young may act as Sunderland’s third-choice keeper for the 2024/25 season, moving between the under-21s group and first team squad.

Another young keeper on Sunderland’s books is 20-year-old Kelechi Chibueze, who was loaned out to Northern Premier League Consett AFC in the second half of last season. Depending on the situations with Richardson and Young, Chibueze could receive more game time for the Black Cats’ under-21s team during the 2024/25 campaign.