League One

Sunderland: Fans react to Lee Johnson’s comments on Jack Diamond

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Image for Sunderland: Fans react to Lee Johnson’s comments on Jack Diamond

Sunderland fans have been discussing the future of Jack Diamond following comments made by manager Lee Johnson.

The 21-year-old has made 39 appearances for Sunderland over the past few years, during which time he has scored two goals and chipped in with five assists, but he has found playing time a lot harder to come by this season, playing just 79 minutes in total and only managing one start, which was in their League Cup game against Port Vale.

And given his lack of playing time at the Stadium of Light, it appears as though the club are considering allowing him to continue his development elsewhere for this season, like he did with Harrogate Town in 2019/20.

Johnson has been quoted as saying (as per The Shields Gazzette): “We have talked about a loan. I’ve said many times that to properly develop a young player, they probably need 25 starts across a season. That’s no different to 90% of our players and especially the younger ones. “We’ve had a lot of loan offers for Jack and clubs showing interest in a loan deal.”

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These comments were relayed to Sunderland fans online by journalist Phil Smith for fans to react to, where it garnered a number of responses:

“I’m not sure whether loaning him out would be beneficial. He’s probably the only genuine speedster we’ve got going forward, and unless we’ve got another transfer in the pipeline, I’d like to see Diamond stay.”

“I’d loan him if it meant getting better in to be honest. Not improved enough to be near starting 11. A loan may do him good. I’m not convinced. Just seems to have pace but decision-making is dreadful.”
“He improved so much when he went out on loan to Harrogate so I agree another loan move would be great for him and us.”
“Get him out on loan”
“Don’t loan him. Play him”
“Think it would make sense tbh. Not gonna get the minutes he needs and hopefully has the same effect as it did on Embleton”
“Not for me. If we had further cover yes, but I think we need another winger even with him here”
“Not good enough for me, either a loan deal or get him out the door. People overrate his ability because he’s been produced in academy”

Have you been happy with Johnson since his appointment at Sunderland?

Yes

Yes

No

No

With the transfer window set to close next week, it should be interesting to see whether or not they are able to get a deal for him done in time or if he’ll be forced to try and fight for his minutes within the club.

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Freelance sports journalist & broadcaster.