Young goalkeeper Anthony Patterson is yet to make his League One debut for the Black Cats but he will surely have caught Phil Parkinson’s eye.
Anthony Patterson might not have played a senior game yet for Sunderland but Black Cats goalkeeping coach Lee Butler is confident that the teenage shot-stopper has a huge future ahead of him, in quotes reported by the Chronicle.
At the age of 19, the world is at Patterson’s feet. Or should we say hands?
The teenager has a long way to go if he wants to follow in the footsteps of Jordan Pickford, who rose through the ranks at the Stadium of Light before joining Everton for £30 million and establishing himself as England’s number one, but his natural talent is certainly not in question.
At least that is according to Butler, who worked alongside Pickford during a loan spell at Bradford City in his formative years.
“I’ve really enjoyed working with him. I’m pushing him a little bit more. I think he can get better. But he’s got the best hands of a young goalkeeper, well probably any goalkeeper, I’ve worked with for a long time. He’s got great hands,” Butler says.
“He makes big saves and he’s a good shot-stopper but, you know, it’s not all about that, and he knows that.”
Butler believes that young Patterson could work on his communication with the U23 star a rather reserved character on the pitch, at least compared to the motor-mouthed Three Lions glovesman; “It’s not natural to him like it was Pickford.”
Yet Patterson should be confident that a first-team debut is not a million miles away, with new Sunderland manager Phil Parkinson keen to give youth a chance.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
