Sunderland’s under-21s rounded off a remarkable season with an emphatic win over Blackburn Rovers to secure their spot in next season’s international cup competition as well as a home tie in the Premier League 2’s knockout phase in May.
Graeme Murty’s young Sunderland side have punched above their weight and more than held their own against some of the best academies in the country after the reformatting of the Premier League’s developmental programme last summer where teams were merged into one division. Had that not been the case, Sunderland would have been competing in division two and unable to show their worth against the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Liverpool. As it happens, Sunderland’s 4-0 win in Lancashire has ensured they will finish no lower than seventh in their first season back among development football’s elite.
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Ellis Taylor capped a fine week back in the starting line-up with two goals as Oliver Bainbridge and Harrison Jones added to the scoreline in what was Sunderland’s second highest win of the campaign. Taylor is one of the players heading out of contract at the Academy of Light this summer but the 21-year-old gave a timely reminder as to what he is capable of with two excellent strikes on the back of what has been an impressive season for the academy captain upon his return from a difficult loan spell with Hartlepool United in 2022, despite missing a number of months through injury.
Taylor has scored five times in 12 Premier League 2 appearances this season with a number of assists to add to his name having also been named in the first team Championship squad on eight occasions.
“It’s really important for him and his career because he’s a great person to work with and he’s a good player,” academy head coach Murty said of Taylor. “He’s a bit rusty from where he was but his attitude and his drive and his personality transmits itself to the group so for us, as coaches, he’s been really good to have in the group.
“For him, it’s really important that his recovery and return to playing remains on track so we’ll be a willing vehicle for him, but I think we’re both benefiting because he adds so much to the group.”
Murty continued: “I said to the players; it’s a combination of all their hard work. It was a bit scrappy in the first half, we lacked a little bit of control and we were a little bit fortunate with a really scrappy, but a well taken goal from Ellis. But I thought we totally controlled the game in the second half and we deserved to win the game.
“The players have been a pleasure to work with. They’re like sponges for information, they want more all the time, they’re asking really good questions and coming up with solutions and I thought we were worthy winners.”
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Victory ensures Murty and his players will continue their campaign in May with a home tie in the knockout phase of Premier League 2 to be confirmed. Sunderland’s win over Blackburn means they will finish either sixth or seventh, depending on the outcome of Reading’s trip to Nottingham Forest which is set to take place on Monday. Fixtures elsewhere will also determine who Sunderland will welcome to the North East with Manchester United, Crystal Palace, Brighton & Hove Albion and Nottingham Forest all potential opponents for Murty’s team.
“We want to continue to grow, we want to continue to be tested and to push ourselves,” said Murty. “We want to go for as long as we possibly can so we’ll take whatever comes with a real positive intent and a real positive attitude and see where we can finish up.
“I would suggest that no one, looking at where we’ve come from in the second division last year into this new format, would have thought we could finish where we have, so it’s a credit to the players. I keep reiterating that, the players deserve all the credit. They’ve worked extremely hard this year and whatever comes from now they should just really enjoy it because it’s another opportunity to go and show how good they are.”
For some, including Taylor, this could be a final game, or run of games depending on their play-off off success, in a Sunderland shirt with a number of players out of contract. Discussions have taken place with players and the outcome of those discussions largely relayed to a group who have helped reinstall the integrity to a once overlooked academy.
Having failed to win a single game throughout the season four years ago there is now a positive light shining on the club’s academy with the pathway to the first team a real prospect as highlighted by the likes of Taylor and Tom Watson, who was an unused substitute in Sunderland’s defeat at Watford just 24 hours prior to featuring for the academy side against Blackburn.
For those who may leave the club this summer, however, Murty believes they can do so full of self-belief after their endeavours this season.
“Football is a really interesting thing,” said Murty. “I think you’re always playing for your future. I was watching Jude Bellingham the other day and he’s playing for his future – but he’s cemented his future at the top of the game and people are casting coveted eyes on him because of what he does and that’s rightly so. But no matter what level you’re playing at you’re always playing to impress, you’re always playing for your next contract because we know what football is like.
“If you’re doing particularly well, someone will come and someone will have a chat and someone will look at where your potential is and where your ceiling is. We’re really excited about the group, they’ve done particularly well, but they’re really young.
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“We want to be the group of people who guide the next stage of their development and we think we’re doing a fairly good job so far. Most decisions have been made and conveyed to the players.
“[If they are to move on] they’ve measured themselves against the very best teams in the country and they have more than held their own. So they should walk into any challenge they have that’s left in front of them with a positive attitude and an understanding of who and what they are and what they bring to the table and they should never do themselves down.”
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