Anthony Patterson reflected on 'a crazy year' after the homegrown Sunderland goalkeeper was named as North-East Football Writers' Young Player of the Year. The current Black Cats number one followed in the footsteps of fellow academy graduate and now Everton and England star Jordan Pickford, and current team-mate Dan Neil in landing the prestigious honour and he received the award from head coach Tony Mowbray at the annual event at Ramside Hall on Sunday night.
It marks another step in the progression of the young stopper, who began 2022 on loan at National League club Notts County, only to make a quickfire return to Wearside before helping Sunderland regain their Championship status with a 2-0 Wembley win over Wycombe Wanderers just four months later. Patterson has now firmly established himself as the Black Cats' first-choice keeper and has kept ten clean sheets in 35 league games as Mowbray's men look to continue putting pressure on the play-off places.
Looking back at the last 12 months, Patterson believes claiming a regular place in the Sunderland side has been 'a big achievement' and insisted some challenging moments have helped him develop. He said: "It's been a crazy year really and obviously starting the year at Notts County, to come back and play the remainder of the season at Sunderland, at Wembley, winning a play-off, it doesn't really get much better.
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"Coming into the new season and getting the number one and playing all season, it's been a big achievement. I had literally just been sent back out to Notts County so it was a bit of a quick turnaround to end up back at Sunderland and playing again but I wouldn't have had it any other way.
"It's been a brilliant year. It's always about learning and the harder it is the quicker I learn and I think everyone has seen over the last 18 months that I keep learning from my mistakes and the difficult situations I have been put in.
"It just helps, it develops you a lot quicker."
There has been speculation linking Patterson with a move away from the Stadium of Light in recent weeks with the likes of Leicester City, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Fulham all said to be monitoring his progress. It was a performance in a 1-1 draw in an FA Cup fourth round tie against the latter of that trio that has sparked wider interest in the young stopper, who is also reportedly in line for a maiden England U21s call-up after impressing Three Lions scouts in recent weeks.
However, the 22-year-old is only focusing on continuing his improvement as a young goalkeeper and is determined to develop his game further over the remainder of the season and beyond. He said: "I think overall I have become more solid, more of a presence and I am commanding my area a lot better.
"That's just come with the games I've played and the confidence I've been gaining. I just need to keep developing on every aspect really.
"I don't think there's anything I should stop trying to develop really."
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