Sunderland’s under-23s will return to training on Wednesday morning ahead of the 2017-18 season.
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Coached by Elliott Dickman, the young Black Cats have impressed in recent years both domestically and on the European stage.
Last season the under-23s seventh in the Premier League 2 and although they didn’t challenge for the title, as they did in the 2015-16 season, a number of youngsters stepped into the first team.
Lynden Gooch followed in Duncan Watmore’s footsteps while Jordan Pickford established himself as one of the best stoppers in the top flight, with his former and international recognition leading to a big-money move to Everton.
The likes of Ethan Robson, who was named October’s Premier League Player of the Month, and Rees Greenwood also regulalrly trained alongside the first team, as youngsters such as Tom Beadling, Michael Ledger, Tom Robson and Andrew Nelson went out on loan.
And this progression saw a number of under-18s step up and impress for the development side, with Elliot Embleton, Joel Asoro and Josh Maja ending the season on the fringes of the first team while also firing the Lads to the Premier League International Cup final.
The 2017-18 Premier League 2 fixtures are yet to be released but this pre-season the under-23s will working closely with their senior counterparts.
And after returning the Academy of Light on Wednesday, they will travel to Austria for a first-team training camp.
