Sunderland hand shock trial to Anton Forrester, played 60 minutes in tonight’s 1-0 defeat

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Sunderland are taking a look at striker Anton Forrester.

Sunderland lost 1-0 to Darlington in a pre-season friendly this evening – and they had trialist Anton Forrester on show in a surprise move.

The Black Cats are bringing in a new era under recently-appointed manager Jack Ross, and he has been attempting to build a squad capable of returning to the Championship following relegation to League One.

Sunderland’s pre-season preparations started locally as they travelled to Darlington, but lost 1-0 as Jordan Nicholson scored the winning goal for the non-league side.

New signings Reece James, Tom Flanagan, Alim Ozturk and Chris Maguire all featured for the Black Cats, and there was a surprise face in the starting line-up for Ross’ side.

Leading the line was striker Anton Forrester, with the 24-year-old striker on trial with the club as he looks to find a new club ahead of the new League One season, as confirmed on the club’s official website.

Forrester, formerly of Everton and Blackburn Rovers, hit seven goals in 30 games on loan with Bury during the 2013-14 season, but then failed to score in a four-game loan spell with Morecambe.

A 2016 move to Port Vale followed, but he left Vale Park this summer after scoring just five goals in 41 games – and just three goals in 34 league games, but he featured for an hour against Darlington tonight.

Forrester’s record is far from impressive, especially at 24, and having been released by a League One club, it would be a huge surprise to see Sunderland hand him a contract this summer.