Sunderland supporters will be entering September over the moon with their side's top start to the Championship season, with the Black Cats still boasting a 100% record in the second tier after four games.
Only one goal has been shipped across this unbeaten patch so far, whilst ten strikes have also been scored by Regis Le Bris' men to keep them at the very top of the second-tier summit.
Whilst the likes of Chris Rigg and Jobe Bellingham have been thrust into the limelight off the back of this excellent start, reliable number-one goalkeeper Anthony Patterson also continues to prove his immense worth to the early Championship pace-setters.
Patterson's season so far
Much like Rigg, Patterson has been in the Sunderland first-team ranks for what feels like an eternity, despite the shot-stopper still only 24 years of age.
The homegrown Black Cats product has shone this season to date, as he has done over a number of campaigns in the senior mix now, with three clean sheets collected from those four clashes.
He was particularly impressive versus Cardiff City on the opening day to ensure Le Bris got off to a winning start in the challenging Sunderland dug-out, making four saves in the Welsh capital to constantly deny the Bluebirds and to help hand his side a 2-0 victory.
Wanted by a whole host of Premier League suitors this off-season, with Gary O'Neil's Wolverhampton Wanderers reportedly interested at one point, Patterson will just aim to continue performing for his boyhood club – away from any admirers watching from afar – to try and put the Wearside outfit firmly back on the footballing map by winning promotion up to the top-flight.
Noted as having "outstanding" reactions in the past when in-between the sticks by football journalist Josh Bunting, Patterson is very firmly the main starting 'keeper week in week out for Le Bris' men.
He's even worth more than Bellingham, according to Football Transfers, which further reinforces his pivotal nature in the Sunderland first-team ranks, as the 18-year-old aims to soar to new heights across this season to come.
Patterson's transfer value in 2024
Not even Bellingham's bright start to the new Championship season – which saw the former Birmingham City prodigy assist Jack Clarke's final ever Sunderland goal away at Cardiff – has impacted Patterson's transfer value rising above the Black Cats number seven's, with Patterson worth £11.2m currently, as per Football Transfers.
Market Movers
Football FanCast's Market Movers series explores the changing landscape of the modern transfer market. How much is your club's star player or biggest flop worth today?
Bellingham is worth a little less at £10m, but will no doubt generate Sunderland more money than that if he is sold on down the line, much like Clarke gifting the second-tier promotion hopefuls up to £20m after leaving for Ipswich Town.
He could go for a fee around this region too, with a mightily impressive seven goals and one assist managed during his debut season whilst he was still finding his way in his new surroundings.
1. Anthony Patterson
£11.2m
2. Jobe Bellingham
£10m
3. Trai Hume
£8m
4. Dan Neil
£7m
5. Daniel Ballard
£6m
Glancing at the table above, both Patterson and Bellingham take the top two spots when it comes to the high-valued assets at the Stadium of Light in the here and now, with the likes of Trai Hume and Dan Neil also seeing their values shoot up somewhat.
Hume was only worth a meagre £168k when first making the switch from his native Northern Ireland, before becoming a settled first-team face on Wearside.
Patterson didn't cost a penny, rising up the youth ranks to become the trusty number-one shot-stopper.
Now up to 40 clean sheets in the Sunderland first-team to date, after his recent three had been added to the back catalogue, Patterson will aim to keep these excellent displays coming as another set of whirlwind Championship fixtures await the confident Wearside outfit after the international break is up.
The next Rigg: Sunderland could replace Jack Clarke with "exciting" teen
Sunderland are blessed when it comes to top youngsters at the Stadium of Light.
1 ByKelan SarsonSep 2, 2024