But a glance outside the Premier League shows a host of players who spent their formative years at the Academy of Light - showing how the Black Cats’ impact stretches throughout the footballing pyramid.
Earlier this week, the Echo ran a series of articles investigating the current state of the Black Cats’ famed academy. You can read each part by clicking below:
Here, we cast an eye over 17 highly-rated players who progressed through the Sunderland youth system and now play elsewhere. How many can you remember?
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