Sunderland loanee goalkeeper Matty Young is expected to stay at Salford City after previous suggestions that they were going to review their position on him in January.
More than four months into his first EFL loan term, Young made his first league start for Salford Friday night in a 2-0 victory against Harrogate Town.
The 18-year-old had filled in for Jamie Jones throughout the 2024/25 League Two season until Tuesday night, with his only previous outings coming in cup games.
He was not being favoured by the Ammies’ manager Karl Robinson, and with Sunderland having high hopes for his future, as evidenced by the new contract he signed with them, which will keep him on Wearside until the summer of 2028, they were willing to consider pulling him out of Salford and bringing him back to the northeast in January, according to Alan Nixon.
Sunderland’s position on his current loan has evolved as starting opportunities in the league become more realistic with the fourth-tier team.
Sunderland to let Matty Young stay at Salford City
According to the Sunderland Echo, Young is now likely to be Robinson’s first choice between the sticks, thus the Black Cats are happy to let him finish out his season-long loan transfer with Salford.
The teenager shined in his League Two debut for City. He produced an early double stop to keep Harrogate at bay, enabling his outfield teammates a solid foundation to build on and eventually take a two-goal lead.
| Matty Young’s stats vs Harrogate Town (03/12/24) | |
|---|---|
| Saves | 2 |
| Saves from inside the box | 1 |
| High claims | 3 |
| Passing accuracy | 13/35 (37%) |
Despite his performance, Robinson was not particularly impressed with Young’s efforts. “It wasn’t an impressive double save, though, because he should have held on to the first,” added the Salford manager.
Young was also responsible for an FA Cup third round draw away to Manchester City. He preserved a clean sheet against Cheltenham in the second round last weekend, which helped them get into the draw. It remains to be seen whether he will be rewarded for his efforts in the previous rounds with a start against the Premier League champions.
The Matty Young scenario looks like it should work out well for Sunderland
When you send a young player out on loan, you want them to improve, and the conventional way to do so is by playing games rather than just participating in first-team training sessions.
The Black Cats believe their adolescent glovesman has a lot of potential, so they can’t afford to waste a season of his career by sending him somewhere else to play once a month at most. If his bench appearances had continued, it would have made perfect sense to cancel his loan early.
Now that Young appears to be Salford’s number one, we can see more of why Sunderland is so enthusiastic about him.
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