Sunderland winger Jack Diamond reacts after sealing loan move to Harrogate Town

Diamond has joined the club where he helped win promotion from the National League until the end of the current campaign.

The talented winger signed a three-year deal earlier this year to secure his long-term future on Wearside, but the Black Cats want to ensure his gametime is not limited this season.

They are expected to conclude a deal for Bayern Munich winger Leon Dajaku before the transfer closes at 11pm.

Diamond had a number of offers from the EFL but is seeking to replicate his previous success.

“The move presented a good challenge for me, I’ve already done a lot here and finished off on a high when I left so the challenge now is to replicate what I have done,” Diamond said.

“I grew a lot as a player in my last spell and was able to find consistency, all the lads helped me so much with advice.

“There’s no time in football to stay still, you have got to keep improving yourself so coming here on loan was a great option for me.”

Speaking recently, Johnson explained why the Black Cats were considering a loan.

Diamond has been absent from the last two matchday squads amid fierce competition for places.

“I've said many times that to properly develop a young player, they probably need 25 starts across a season,” he said.

“That's no different to 90% of our players and especially the younger ones.

“We've had a lot of loan offers for Jack and clubs showing interest in a loan deal.

“We are also potentially in the market for that type of position.

“We've also got Josh Hawkes and he's done well. He's got that quality and today I just thought, there's a chance that in the last 20 minutes or so we could have them camped in their box and I think Hawkesy has that very good scoring record.

“It was a tight decision.

“If I could put them both in a tumble dryer I would have a top, top player.

“But of course they're both still learning, still developing.”

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