Gardiner makes loan switch to Mariners

Sunderland Under-21s striker Harry Gardiner has joined South Shields on loan for the rest of the Northern Premier League campaign.

Gardiner has had an excellent season in Premier League 2 Division 2, scoring regularly after stepping in to help replace the injured Max Thompson. That has led to him landing some training opportunities with the senior group, and with the Premier League 2 campaign drawing to a close, he is now taking the next step by hopefully playing regular senior football.

He’ll be joining an environment he knows well, having played for the club’s academy before making the switch to Wear side. And he’ll be workingclosely with one of Sunderland’ s greatest ever strikers in Kevin Phillips, who is head coach at Mariners Park.

“We’re delighted to have signed Harry,” Phillips said.

“We’ re very grateful to Sunderlandfor allowing him to join us on loan, and I’m sure it will be a great experience for him in men’s football after his progress with the U23s.

“It will be a challenge for Harry, but he brings lots of qualities to our squad and hopefully goals, too. He’s the type of striker who loves to run in behind and is a typical fox in the box with good movement.

“I’m excited to work with him and pleased to add some extra competition to the squad for the final six games.

“We’ ve had along, hard season and there is a bit of fatigue and tiredness among the players, so to be able to add a fresh pair of legs to challenge the others is very beneficial .”

South Shields currently sit top of the Northern Premier League table.

Meanwhile, Sunderland defender Dennis Cir kin has been pictured in training as he continues to recover from a concussion injury.

The 20-year-old full-back was knocked out while scoring the equaliser away at Millwall in early February, before returning to action during a 2-1 defeat at Rotherham two weeks later in line with concussion protocols.

While Cirkin has been pictured on the Academy of Light training pitches, it remains unclear if he has been taking part in contact training. The defender was in London to see a specialist last week, while he also appeared on Sunderland’ s pre-match show ahead of Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Luton.