Transfer news: Sunderland loanee set to extend spell at National League club

Sunderland defender Zak Johnson is set to extend his stay at National League club Hartlepool United beyond the New Year.

The England youth international joined Pools on a short-term loan during the summer months after featuring for Sunderland during pre-season.

The 19-year-old has started in six of the seven games he has been available to manager John Askey’s side but was forced off with an injury during the first half of the recent defeat at Aldershot.

However, our sister title The Hartlepool Mail has reported that Johnson will remain with Pools until the New Year when the deal can be assessed further by Sunderland.

Speaking after joining on his initial one-month deal, Johnson said: "I think it’s a massive step forward in my career.

"Hartlepool have shown their enthusiasm in me to want to come and play and aid my development and Sunderland have said it could be a really good opportunity. 

"I know that Hartlepool and Sunderland have good connections with each other and they’re both going to be transparent with my development, which is really important.

“For me, it’s about getting as much first-team match experience as possible because there’s a huge step up from the 21s development programme to being in a first-team environment.

“I’ve just loved the rawness of it. It’s so different to academy football where everything is almost seen as development whereas with this there’s a real importance to winning and earning points and having a relationship with your team-mates. Everything like that matters," Johnson concluded.