Mike Dodds names the Sunderland youngster with a 'proper chance' of making the grade - next season & beyond

Mike Dodds believes Sunderland youngster Matty Young has a 'proper chance' of making it in top-level football, and says no one should rule out him competing for a place on Wearside next season.

The 17-year-old goalkeeper is building a strong reputation in the game a youth international who turned down interest from the Premier League to sign his first professional contract at the club earlier this season. Young then went out on loan to Darlington, where has performed exceptionally well in his first taste of senior football. He has been an integral part of Steve Watson's side, who have produced a strong run of form to secure an unlikely escape from relegation trouble in the National League North with one game still to play.

Young will be handed a chance to impress in pre-season and while another loan move looks to be the most likely next step at this early stage, Sunderland's interim head coach says he could yet play his way into contention. Either way, Dodds believes he has a bright future so long as he stays focused and humble.

“Can Matty [Young] come back and challenge for a first-team goalkeeping spot next season? Yeah, why not? Chris Rigg is a first-year scholar, and I’ve played him against Southampton, Leicester and Leeds this season," Dodd said.

"I know people might say that the goalkeeping position is a bit different, but the ball is always in the player’s court. If he comes back and is unbelievable, then one thing that this football club has shown is that under this model and this ownership, they will give young players opportunities and will not be scared of that. If he comes back, and he’s better than the current number one, whether that be Patto [Anthony Patterson] or whoever, then he’ll get an opportunity to play. If that opportunity is not there, then maybe it’ll be a case of looking at another loan. I understand the argument that goalkeepers can be hard debuts to give just because of the nature of the position or the pitch. But if you’re asking me from a personal perspective, then if I felt Matty was ready, psychologically and mentally to play at the Stadium of Light as a 17-year-old or 18-year-old, I wouldn’t have any qualms at all about playing him.

"The ball’s in his court," Dodds added.

"It depends on how good he is when he comes back in the summer, but he’s a wonderful player, and I think Matty Young has got a real chance. I think he could go all the way to the top, but like all young players, that’ll ultimately be dependent on how he manages his head."

While Sunderland's other youngsters out on loan have endured more mixed fortunes, Dodds says that doesn't necessarily mean that they won't be able to play a part in the squad next season.

Jewison Bennette's spell in Greece has been impacted by injury, while Eliezer Mayenda has also had limited game time at Hibernian. Nectar Triantis has had more time on the pitch for the Edinburgh club, impressing at times in a holding midfield role.

Sunderland will also have to weigh up the next steps for the likes of Joe Anderson and Zak Johnson, currently on loan at Shrewsbury Town and Dundalk respectively.

Dodds says the challenges of a loan spell can often be as beneficial as the positives, and expects all to return with greater maturity this summer. That, he feels, might help them as they look to kick of when the first-team squad come back for pre-season training.

“Sometimes, with the loans, going and experiencing a different environment and not doing well can still be a positive," Dodds said.

"It’s not always about a player going somewhere and scoring loads of goals and doing really well, and you automatically thinking ‘They’re the one’ when they come back.

"Sometimes, going out, learning things, thinking, ‘Okay, I need to be better at this’ and then having that reflection time can be really important for a loan player. Some of them have gone and played regularly, some of them have been more in and out, but even for the in and out ones, I think they’ll have had some really important experiences." Dodds added.

"All the ones that have gone out are young players. They’ll all come back in the summer, and they’ll all have an opportunity to show us that they’ve got a case for being in the squad or the team. If they have, great, we keep them in and they become a first-team player. If they haven’t, then there’s two routes for them.

"I mean this respectfully, but you then either move them on because the club want to progress and get better in that position, or you loan them out again and say, ‘Right, you’re missing in these areas, so you need to go and get game time’. I wouldn’t say there’s anyone in particular I’d pick out at the moment. The one I’m always interested in seeing when the loan players come back in the summer is whether they come back a little bit more mature and have a better understanding of what professional football is all about. It’ll be a really interesting summer for those ones who are coming back, and you normally see a slight difference in their character, which I think is really important."