Mike Dodds’ men find themselves occupying a disappointing 13th spot in the second-tier standings with just three games left to play, not involved in any of the drama near the top of the division whilst being stuck in the middle.
Young gems such as Chris Rigg and Jobe Bellingham – who have both starred in patches this season – will have matured even more by the time a ball is kicked to start next campaign, with the future bright on Wearside when looking at the number of top youngsters coming through.
This emerging talent at the Stadium of Light could well grow to become the best of the bunch if given time, with his style of play already being likened to Jack Clarke’s skill set.
The next Jack Clarke
17-year-old Tom Watson won’t be fazed just yet by the outlandish praise fielded his way by football journalist Josh Bunting, who described the up-and-coming left winger as “like Jack Clarke” in terms of his directness marauding forward for the U21s.
Watson is also playing like a goal machine for the U21s like the former Tottenham Hotspur man is for the first-team, bagging in his last two Premier League 2 appearances to take his goal total for the season in the youth ranks to eight strikes from 14 games.
