Sunderland can confirm a host of new scholarships for youth players from the club’s Academy of Light.
Eight players have been taken in as first-year scholars, while a host of players have signed their first professional contract.
The new intake of scholars are; Sonny Best, Harrison Devine, Kane Evans, Tomas Howard, Ryan Leonard, Joseph Lilley, Thomas Scothern and Connor Slack.
Lee Connelly, Jack Diamond and Jake Hackett have also penned their first professional contracts until 2019. Meanwhile, Benji Mbunga-Kimioka and Jacob Young have signed three-year deals until the summer of 2020.
