Sunderland's second string will be playing in a revamped Premier League 2 next season after bosses scrapped current regulations allowing players under the age of 23 to participate. Instead, Premier League 2 will revert back to the old format of the Under-21 League.
Last year, the Black Cats finished 13th out of 14 teams, a disappointing campaign after reaching the Premier League 2 Division 2 play-off final the year prior. Prem bosses have cited a lack of player development as one of the reasons behind the change, with players languishing in the league for too long.
Sunderland gave a number of youngsters game time in the Papa John's Trophy last season, but there were no new debutants in the league throughout the campaign. The Black Cats have made a considerable effort to recruit players for their youth set-up and it's an area the Kristjaan Speakman and Kyril Louis-Dreyfus are keen fans of.
READ MORE: Championship managerial pool that Alex Neil will relish pitting his Sunderland team against
In recent years Dan Neil, Anthony Patterson, Ellis Taylor and Elliot Embleton have made competitive appearances for Sunderland, but fans are constantly on the lookout for the next hot prospect. The Wearsiders are expected to add a number of youngsters to their ranks throughout the summer, after releasing 11 youngsters at the end of last season.
The change in Premier League 2 has resulted in Liverpool Academy manager Alex Inglethorpe having his say on the change in structure. He said: "I welcome that because it gets it back to the reality of what it actually is – which is an U19 league, in my opinion.
"Therefore, it allows players to play in it who are slightly older and I guess every club is going to do it slightly differently. For us, it doesn’t and it won’t change anything.
"Sometimes you can have players that you know are too good for the level and I think that can be equally as frustrating. I remember when Neil Critchley was in charge of the U23s and he mentioned to me that a few of the boys had gone past this and they needed another challenge because it had become too easy for them.
"If you look at our U23s side, the average age of the team is 18.94 in Premier League 2. Really, it’s an U19 league."
