How the academies of Sunderland, Newcastle and Middlesbrough compare when it comes to first-team success rate

In a week when the most famous of all the North East’s footballing sons passed away, which of the region’s clubs is doing most to ensure that potential future Bobby Charltons are not lost – as he was – to the area?

From both Sir Bobby and his brother Jack to stars of the modern era like Michael Carrick, our region boasts a proud tradition for unearthing talent, with the fabled Wallsend Boys Club  contributing to Newcastle United’s academy for generations. But common consensus seems to be that Sunderland’s Academy of Light and Middlesbrough’s Rockcliffe Park have recently more consistently churned out gifted youngsters.

So which of our big three clubs really are producing most first team-ready homegrown talents? We’ve crunched the numbers behind the North East’s three top academy production lines over the last decade (2013-14 to the present season) to find out.

Over recent years, it’s been a rare sight to see a Newcastle academy player that makes you think ‘potential first-team regular.’ But, with extra investment made in the academy set-up under new ownership, it looks like Eddie Howe will have a richer crop of youngsters to add to his squad in seasons to come.

Lewis Miley, at 17, and 20-year-old Elliot Anderson are the two Darsley Park graduates who look to have the most potential out of the Newcastle youngsters. The latter has already played in the Magpies’ first two Champions League fixtures alongside fellow Geordie Sean Longstaff.

Meanwhile, Sunderland have famously promoted youth prospects into senior football, with England regulars Jordan Henderson and Jordan Pickford only part of the evidence of the work put in by coaches at the Academy of Light.

Chris Rigg has not already prompted talk of him following Henderson and Pickford’s lead by representing the Three Lions at under-18s level as a 16-year-old, but he has been in and around the first-team set-up at Sunderland for over a year, and scored his maiden Championship goal this season in September.

Down on Teesside, Hayden Hackney is the latest youngster from Rockliffe Park who has the Middlesbrough faithful excited for the future. The 21-year-old Redcar-born dynamo has forged a regular spot in Carrick’s starting XI which has many questioning how far the midfielder can go.

But beyond the current crop of youngsters knocking on the first-team door, what has been the productivity – first team-wise of our three biggest academies over the last decade?

Sunderland lead the way for the most first-team league debuts given to homegrown players since 2013 with 20, followed closely by Middlesbrough with 17. But Newcastle’s generally more stacked squad has seemingly hampered the chances for many of their youngsters to break into the starting XI.

Just three out of the 10 homegrown players that United have handed debuts to in the last decade currently still play at St James’ Park: Sean Longstaff, Miley and Anderson. For Sunderland, it’s five - Elliot Embleton, Dan Neil, Anthony Patterson, Rigg and Tom Watson – while Boro have six, in Isaiah Jones, Sonny Finch, Pharrell Willis, Hackney, Josh Coburn and Dael Fry.

The seven Newcastle academy first-team graduates who have moved on have mostly established careers at a high level elsewhere, such as Freddie Woodman and Adam Armstrong. By contrast, many of Sunderland’s and Middlesbrough’s homegrown debutants now play in non-league, with a few in the Football League’s lower divisions.