Black Cats under-23s powering up
WHILE first-team manager Jack Ross waits patiently for reinforcements, Sunderland’s under-23 side is strengthening for next season.
On the day the Black Cats signed Everton product Jack Bainbridge, it emerged that 18-year-old striker Liam Millar could also move to the Academy of Light.
As well as overhauling the senior side, the Black Cats are trying to bolster their resources at junior level too. Like Bainbridge and Jordan Hunter, it is thought Liverpool’s Millar has been targeted for the future, rather than the present.
The teenager would help fill the gap left by 16-year-old Sam Greenwood, who has joined Arsenal after turning down a contract on Wearside this summer.
Millar scored 19 goals for Liverpool’s under-18 and 19 teams last season, including two in the Uefa Youth League group stage, against Maribor and Sevilla.
He is a full Canadian international, who made his debut against New Zealand in March.
But the competition for places at clubs of Liverpool’s size is huge, and it would appear Millar is about to move on. Roker Report say a deal to join Sunderland is close.
Like Welshman Ben Woodburn, one of the youngsters blocking his path to the first team, Millar can play wide as well as down the middle.
Canada’s Consett-born manager John Herdman was full of praise for the youngster after handing him his first cap.
“He was fearless,” said Herdman after Millar’s international debut, as a left-winger. “He’s got that X-factor. He doesn’t know any other way than to try and terrorize full-backs. It’s exciting.”
Millar joined Fulham after moving to England as a 13-year-old, but in 2016 he joined the Reds.
Like centre-back Bainbridge, Millar plays in a position where Ross is looking for reinforcements, but the idea for now seems to be for both to be part of the under-23 set-up.