When the Sunderland Academy of Light officially opened back in 2003, it was hoped it would not be too long before players would be brought through the ranks and eventually serve the first team. It had worked for the likes of Manchester United and in time the hope was that Sunderland could produce the type of talent that would save them millions in the transfer market.
Instant success was unlikely as the academy needed time to build. The likes of Liverpool captain and England international Jordan Henderson, who played over 70 games for his hometown club came through the Academy of Light, as did Newcastle utility man Jack Colback and Middlesbrough captain Grant Leadbitter.
Success stories were not as common as the club and fans would have liked but lately it seems that the Academy are getting it right, much to the delight of the fans and the club itself. Lately, Sunderland have seen the talented England Under-21 forward Duncan Watmore push regularly for a starting place and goalkeeper Jordan Pickford’s fine form while on loan at Preston and on England U21 duty, persuaded Sam Allardyce that he could afford to offload Costel Pantilimon and recall the youngster from his loan spell.
This season the Under-21’s missed out on the title, coming second to Manchester United. One of the season’s highlights included a 6-1 victory of newly crowned Premier League champions Leicester City’s U21’s. They also participated in the Premier League International Cup, topping their group, which included Manchester City, Borussia Monchengladbach and Athletic Bilbao. They were eventually knocked out of the competition by PSV Eindhoven.
The second place finish in the league bettered their fourth place finish the previous season. Meanwhile, the Under 18’s have had another productive season coming fifth in the group stage ahead of local rivals Newcastle and Middlesbrough and then second in the final stage.
Starring for Sunderland U21’s and U18’s of late and who could be pushing for a call up to the first team in the future include: –
Rees has been at the club since he was just eight years old. The forward’s direct play has caused havoc many times for opposition defenders this season earning him rave reviews. He was named player of the month for February and also received an England U-20 call-up, playing the full 90 minutes in their 2-1 defeat to Canada. He will be one to watch if he keeps progressing at his current rate.
Ethan Robson
The young midfielder has risen through the ranks at the Academy of Light and has recently signed a two-year contract extension. The boyhood Sunderland fan is known to like a tackle and states that Lee Cattermole and Yann M’Vila are two players he looks up to. Injuries disrupted his season but if he can work hard, get back to full fitness and learn the best sides of Cattermole and M’Vila, then Sunderland could have an excellent midfielder on their hands.
Lynden Gooch
A player of the month award earlier in the season and a bright debut for the first team against Exeter in the league cup saw many who knew little of Gooch sit up and take notice. The forward also got valuable league experience at First Division side Doncaster Rovers where he helped their fight to stay in the division until injury cut short his time there. He now has his sights set on getting fit in time for pre-season training.
Tom Beadling
A no-nonsense old-school centre-back with an eye for goal, Beadling is a regular fixture for the U21 side. He joined the academy at eight years old and has been tipped as a future star of the first team after another successful season at U21 level and first team exposure during last summer’s tour of North America.
Dan Pybus
The U18 captain has had a successful season at the heart of the young Black Cats midfield. A player who likes to get forward, he has netted an impressive 16 goals this season including a hat-trick on the final day of the season at Wolverhampton Wanderers. The youngster has represented England and has also featured for the Sunderland U21 side.
Josh Maja
Josh joined the Black Cats from Manchester City and the forward has impressed this season for the U18’s with his excellent ball skills. He has shown these skills often this season, including an excellent rabona flick to set up a Dan Pybus goal. Maja was also called up to a first team training session lately impressing Sam Allardyce so much he included him in the first team warm-up for the recent visit of Arsenal.
U21 coach Andy Welsh is delighted with the progression of the Sunderland youngsters: “When you look at it in terms of development the likes of George Honeyman, Rees Greenwood, Duncan Watmore and Jordan Pickford have gone into the first-team, so it’s been a successful season all round.”
It will be interesting to see how these youngsters and others at the Academy of Light develop, but if they continue to progress, Sam Allardyce or whoever the Black Cats manager is in the next few years, could have a talented bunch of youngsters to provide a nice selection headache in the future.
