Sunderland and Newcastle United suffer transfer blow as Wolves defender Dion Sanderson joins Birmingham City

The 21-year-old defender has had recent loan spells with Cardiff and Sunderland where he won the supporters’ young player of the year award last season.

Sanderson agreed a new four-year deal with Wolves before heading out on loan to the Championship side amid strong interest from elsewhere.

Sanderson told the Blues’ club website: “I am delighted and so excited, as soon as I came in today, I have just had a big smile on my face.

“I think they have a great team and it’s a big club, hopefully, it’s a chance for me to play, to impress the head coach and help the team out and fight their way up the table.”

Wolves technical director Scott Sellars said: “Dion’s still very young, he’s only 21, a homegrown centre back with a lot of quality, and we want him to gain experience to hopefully come back and progress with us.

“Ultimately, there’s real value in loans and this is a prime example of it, if you can find the right club. We certainly thank Sunderland for giving Dion the opportunity and he came out of that period with a lot of confidence and improved as a player.

“It’s about getting an opportunity to play real football, there’s a progression through 23s, but we certainly feel the real value to a player comes from first-team experience, either here or somewhere else,” he added.

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