Sunderland have completed the loan signing of 17-year-old defender Callum Doyle from Manchester City.
Doyle adds to the arrivals of Alex Pritchard and Corry Evans, along with the strong core that remained in place for last season.
The signing of Doyle stands out, with Pritchard and Evans both being experienced at higher levels, while the 17-year-old is yet to make a senior appearance in his career.
His age is important when it comes to the squad cap for this season, as being under 21 means he won’t count towards the 20-player limit.
Sunderland are well on their way to having more senior players than they can register, meaning there are likely to be a few outgoings at the Stadium of Light before the season starts.
While only young, Doyle knows what it is like to win silverware. He featured 14 times for Manchester City in their title winning U18 Premier League campaign last time around, keeping nine clean sheets in the process.
Doyle also featured 12 times for City’s U23s who won Premier League 2 Division 1 last season, with five clean sheets in those matches. He also made two appearances against senior sides for City in the Papa John’s Trophy.
Despite his age he is expected to feature in Sunderland’s first team this season, and he shouldn’t look out of place having played above his age group last season for the U23s at City.
The youngster is a centre-back by trade, but did play at left back at time last season.
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