A major update has emerged on Manchester United’s Jacob Carney, regarding Sunderland’s pursuit of his services.
What’s the talk?
According to The Sun journalist Alan Nixon, Sunderland are closing in on a deal to sign 20-year-old goalkeeper Jacob Carney on a free transfer from Premier League side Manchester United.
The Sun on Sunday (14/05/2021, p59) claimed that Burnley and Brighton are also interested in Carney, with the former said to have made an offer to Carney. Lee Johnson’s Sunderland now look set to beat both of them in the race to land his signature.
Earlier this year, Portadown manager Matt Tipton lavished praise on the “excellent” shot-stopper, who was on loan to the Northern Irish side from Manchester United. He told News Letter:
“Manchester United are in contact with me after every game and obviously regularly with Jacob directly, so they seem pleased with his progress at Portadown.“It is unfortunate for Jacob not yet to have that clean sheet but it should not take away from his excellent performance levels.” Fans will be buzzing
Sunderland fans will be buzzing by this update. It shows a sign of intent from the club to snap up a talented young prospect ahead of serious interest from clubs in higher divisions.
As the report stated, Premier League side Burnley have made a contract offer to Carney, yet it still appears as though he is set to join Sunderland instead of Sean Dyche’s team. This also shows that Sunderland are an attractive club to join despite being in League One, which the supporters will surely be delighted about.
Lee Burge is set to be the only senior goalkeeper on Sunderland’s books next month as Remi Matthews is due to leave in the coming weeks. This means that there is a gaping hole in Johnson’s squad that now needs to be filled ahead of next season.
Having three first-team goalkeeper options is ideal for the club, as it only takes one injury to end up with no cover if you have two on the books. Therefore, bringing in young Carney may allow Johnson to use him as the club’s U23s goalkeeper as well as his third-choice in the first-team.
At the age of 20, Carney could also have plenty of potential to improve as a player. Although Manchester United are allowing him to leave, he must have impressed for Premier League teams to show an interest in him, with Burnley and Brighton in the race.
That suggests that he’s shown enough to prove that he has a bright future in the game – perhaps just not at the very top level. Sunderland fans can get excited about a talented prospect joining the club this summer.
AND in other news, Sunderland dealt blow on £3k-p/w ace with “glowing reports”, fans will be gutted…