'Taking phone calls' – Sunderland striker receives glowing character reference after injury-hit exit confirmed
Jake Waters is set to leave Sunderland during the summer after battling back from two serious knee injuries.
Graeme Murty has paid tribute to Jake Waters after the Sunderland striker’s long academy journey came to an end.
Waters, a Sunderland fan growing up, is set to leave the Black Cats this summer after a difficult but admirable spell at the Academy of Light, having battled back from two ACL injuries on each knee to put himself back in a position to play regularly this season.
The forward recently spent time on loan at Spennymoor Town and Hebburn Town, helping the latter win promotion during a productive spell away from Sunderland. While a first-team breakthrough has ultimately proved difficult, Murty believes Waters deserves huge credit for the way he has handled his setbacks and continued to develop.
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Asked about Waters’ journey, Murty said: “He's been a success story for a different reason. He's been challenged immensely throughout his time here. He's shown great resilience. He's had wonderful support from all of our departments, helping him get back. And I've been taking phone calls about him, but not just about him, about all of our players that are going to leave. Asking for character references and for all of them, I can report nothing but glowing terms for them.
“Jake, in particular, in terms of his resilience, but his goals per minute, the way he actually goes about the business of being the number nine, which thankfully are coming back into fashion, is just hopefully one of the things he's going to need to use what he's had here as a springboard to go forward.”
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