Should Sunderland stick or twist regarding Anthony Patterson?

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After breaking into the team during the second half of the 2021/2022 season, he's been one of the first names on the team sheet. He was even the first player in this century to play one hundred consecutive league games for Sunderland — an impressive feat that highlights his reliability and skill.

However, since promotion to the Premier League, Anthony Patterson’s selection has been thrown into contention.

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Sunderland are very clearly in the market for another goalkeeper. We went neck and neck with NEOM

SC for Marcin Bułka, who eventually chose the higher wages over Premier League football. There were also strong rumours of bringing in Djordje Petrović from Chelsea, but he eventually went to Bournemouth.

It hasn't been established whether we’re trying to sign a number one, a backup or someone to compete with Patto, but we’re definitely in the market for a goalkeeper.

Personally, I really like Patterson.

Over the past couple of seasons, some of our supporters have been justifiably disappointed at his distribution and lack of dominance in his box (the first goal away at Swansea and the goal at home to Hull spring to mind) but overall, he’s definitely a good goalkeeper.

He’s a great shot stopper, making some huge saves at important times — the two in the playoff final were unbelievable — and he also appears incredibly calm and composed under pressure.

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In the playoff semi-finals against Coventry City, he was very solid, making little to no errors and being very reliable. To be honest, since he entered the team in League One, I've always trusted him. Being ‘one of our own’ only adds to that and rest of the team clearly loves and trusts him too.

Goalkeepers are always under the spotlight and high levels of pressure. Almost any mistake they make not only tends to lead to a goal, but is also plastered across the back page.

This can lead to a lack of confidence, self doubt and lower levels of performance, but a great characteristic of Patterson is that he doesn't seem to fall victim to this sort of thing. He doesn’t let errors get to him or affect his performance long term.

The goalkeeper is one of, if not the most important position on the pitch and we’ve been lucky to have Patterson.

However, he’s never played in the Premier League — much like almost all of the squad — and having a more experienced goalkeeper to compete with him will undoubtedly benefit both Patterson and the team.

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