The Sunderland players you can expect to see in action tomorrow & the youngsters set for a huge opportunity
Sunderland’s pre-season campaign begins in earnest on Saturday when the team travel to Spennymoor for a training friendly.
By Phil Smith
Published 2nd Jul 2021, 12:30 BST
Updated 2nd Jul 2021, 12:42 BST
Lee Johnson welcomed a threadbare squad back to the Academy of Light on Monday, but was given a considerable boost on Wednesday when Aiden McGeady put pen to paper on a new one-year deal.
Having trained with his team-mates in the latter half of this week, the winger could be involved as the Black Cats step up their preparations for a new League One campaign.
As it stands, Sunderland are still yet to reach agreements on the futures of Luke O’Nien, Denver Hume and Charlie Wyke.
Wyke is expected to leave in search of a new opportunity, while there remains hope at this stage that O’Nien and Hume can be convinced that their future is best served by remaining on Wearside.
Either way, none of that trio will be involved on Saturday and that leaves Johnson with a small group of senior professionals for the training exercise.
However, the absence of summer signings so far means there is significant opportunity for a cohort of young players who have stepped up to join the senior group this week.
Anthony Patterson, Ellis Taylor, Ollie Younger, Dan Neil and Josh Hawkes are all being given the opportunity to show they can play a part in Johnson’s group this season, while a number of other U23s are currently stepping up to strengthen the numbers.
Here’s who you can expect to see in action as the 2021/22 campaign gets off to a low-key start.
As it stands, Sunderland are still yet to reach agreements on the futures of Luke O’Nien, Denver Hume and Charlie Wyke.
5. BB - TOM FLANAGAN
Flanagan struggled with injury over the second half of last season, and so it has been difficult to get a sense of where the versatile defender fits into Johnson's plans.
That he is fit and ready to go from day one of the pre-season campaign will clearly work in his favour, and on Saturday it would be a surprise not to see him at the heart of defence.
It's one of the many positions where Sunderland are clearly lacking depth. Photo: FRANK REID 2019
With Hume still weighing up his future, Sunderland have a clear gap in their squad as it stands. Jake Vokins has returned to Southampton, while Callum McFadzean was released as his short-term deal came to an end.
It has been a position Sunderland have struggled to fill since the departure of Reece James; finding the difficult balance between protecting Hume's pathway and ensuring they have adequate cover.
There is a lot of work to do and for now Johnson can either drop in a senior player, or turn to an U23 option.
Cieran Dunne and Tyrese Dyce, who joined from West Brom this week, look the most likely in that regard.
Gooch will hope for a sustained opportunity in a forward role this season but in this early pre-season fixture, Johnson will no doubt look to make the most of his versatility. Photo: FRANK REID 2019
Whether or not Johnson does indeed look to play in a 4-3-3, the end-of-season exodus has left central midfield as arguably the glaring priority for summer business.
Johnson will almost certainly look more to Winchester, particularly in the early weeks of pre season.
The Northern Irishman has shown his quality in his first six months on Wearside, but needs to apply it more consistently through games to cement a place.
Johnson has spoken so often since arriving of players showing personality on the pitch and Winchester is one of the prime examples of a player who has shown the capacity to do it, but thus far just not quite often enough.
The hope will be that time to settle at the club will help him considerably in the next campaign. Photo: FRANK REID 2020
Johnson has compared Neil to his former Bristol City midfielder Josh Brownhill, now thriving in the Premier League with Burnley.
When the long-term desire is to build a midfield packed with players with the bravery to play forward and break the lines, Neil is an obvious contender over the next few seasons.
A superb pre-season campaign last time out pushed him into senior contention and the opportunities will no doubt be there again next month.
Neil has a bright future on Wearside and the only short-term question is whether it is time for a loan, or to really push into Johnson's immediate plans.
For now, the focus is on the latter. Photo: FRANK REID 2020