Sunderland AFC is pleased to announce three of its young players have signed their first professional contracts with the Club.
Zak Johnson, 17, Harrison Bond, 18, and Harry Gardiner, 18, have all penned their first senior deals on Wearside, and will predominantly continue their development with the Under-23 side at the Academy of Light.
Defender Johnson signs professionally until 2025 just a year into his scholarship, having regularly featured for the Club’s U23s in the Premier League 2 during the 2021-22 season. Johnson also became the youngest outfield player to make a first-team appearance for the Lads in almost 50 years last October, as a late substitute in the Papa John’s Trophy against Manchester United Under-21s, aged just 16 years and 141 days.
Johnson said of his three-year deal: “It feels surreal, and so special to have signed professional terms with my hometown club. I’m so excited to get started this season, and this has only given me more drive to keep pushing and improving.”
Goalkeeper Bond puts pen-to-paper on a one-year contract – the Club having an option to add a further year – after playing regularly for the Under-18 side and featuring in Under-23 squads. Bond was also named amongst the substitutes for the first team in August 2021, as understudy to Anthony Patterson in a 3-2 Carabao Cup victory over Blackpool.
The stopper added: “I’m delighted to sign a professional contract with the club I’ve grown up at and where I’ve learnt so much. I’m so thankful to Pruds [Mark Prudhoe], who was the first face I saw when I first entered the building, and to have that brief experience with the first team is even more motivation for me.”
Forward Gardiner has also signed a one-year contract, with the Club holding an option for an additional year, having been a mainstay and regular goalscorer with the U18 side in 2021-22. Gardiner has supplemented his progress with numerous appearances for the U23s.
He commented on his first senior deal: “It feels amazing to sign professionally here, a really proud moment for myself and my family, who are Sunderland fans. Whilst I’ve been fit, I feel that I’ve come on well as a player here and this is just the start.”
Congratulations, Lads!