Anthony Patterson replacement identified with questions around Sunderland man's future

Wigan Athletic’s Sam Tickle could be the perfect replacement for Anthony Patterson should the much-coveted keeper leave Sunderland this summer. Patterson has been linked with a move to Sheffield United but is contracted until 2028 so there is no guarantee he will want to move from the Stadium of Light.

However, with relegated Premier League outfit United reportedly making Patterson their number one target for the goalkeeping position, Sunderland would need a contingency. An £8m offer has been mooted and should a move happen then sporting director Kristjaan Speakman will have money to invest elsewhere, with Sunderland’s second choice Nathan Bishop maybe not considered experienced enough.

Earlier last season, Sunderland were linked with a summer move for Tickle, 22, who has been in fine form for Wigan, a club set to spend another season in League One next term. Tickle’s credentials are impressive. He is an England U21 international and last season kept 15 clean sheets in 46 League One outings. He is said to have averaged three saves per game.

Wigan supporters have been raving about Tickle, saying he is a future England goalkeeper. The question is whether Speakman will make a move for Tickle before the club knows whether Patterson will be leaving. He may need to act quickly given Tickle will be on many clubs’ wishlists going into the summer transfer window.

A number of other clubs have been linked, including Birmingham City, but Sunderland have the big advantage of being a Championship club and therefore a step up, given the Blues were relegated. Sunderland are known for picking up young and flourishing talent and it’s clear Tickle is very much on an upward trajectory in his career with potential to play for England and one day command a huge transfer fee.

He is just at the right age to make the next step up in his career and Sunderland would be the ideal club to boost his worth, while the club would have another prize asset on their hands. Like Patterson, Tickle is a youth product at the club he is now with, having come through the youth system at Wigan, which he joined in 2012. But he was released in 2018, signed for Pilkington, before rejoining Wigan on a scholarship scheme a year later by which time he had been selected for England Schoolboys FA, making five appearances.

He made his professional debut with Wigan in a 2–0 EFL Trophy loss to Crewe Alexandra on October 5 2021 and hasn’t looked back since. There were loan spells at Nantwich Town and Warrington Rylands but when Wigan’s first choice keeper Ben Amos was injured, Tickle was recalled in January 2023 and staked his claim, before being confirmed as Wigan’s number one for the whole of last season.