"Controversial" £20m Sunderland claim issued on Anthony Patterson as Man United & Crystal Palace circle | OneFootball

FLW's Sunderland fan pundit has given his view on whether goalkeeper Anthony Patterson is worth £20 million.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

It has been an excellent start to the season for Sunderland in the Championship, but they could be vulnerable to losing some of their key players in the January transfer window.

Sunderland are among the early promotion contenders in the Championship, but their impressive form could see some of their stars attract interest from elsewhere, and one such player is goalkeeper Anthony Patterson, who has starred since establishing himself as the club's number one in the 2021-22 season.

It seems that Patterson's performances have not gone unnoticed, and according to journalist Alan Nixon, the 24-year-old is on the radar of Manchester United as they look to sign a new second choice goalkeeper.

Crystal Palace are also said to be keen on Patterson, but he would only be offered a role as back-up to Dean Henderson at Selhurst Park, while he has also been shortlisted by Liverpool ahead of the possible departure of Caiomhin Kelleher.

While they are reportedly willing to accept less, the Black Cats are believed to value Patterson at around £20 million, and with the club aiming to win promotion to the Premier League this season, a move in the summer is more likely than in the January transfer window.

When asked if he believes £20 million would be a fair price for Patterson, FLW's Sunderland fan pundit Eddy Bamber admitted he did not believe the goalkeeper was worth that much.

"To be honest, and this might be a controversial view, I don't think that Anthony Patterson really should be commanding a fee of around £20 million," Eddy told Football League World.

"So if Man United or Crystal Palace or any team were to offer that, I'd snap their hand off.

"He's a solid Championship player, but he's not the best in the league.

"His distribution has never really been his strong point.

"I just don't really see him as a Premier League goalkeeper at that level, so at £20 million, I'd be taking that.

"Whether we've got a replacement ready, I don't know, I haven't seen enough of Simon Moore or Blondy Nna Noukeu to know whether we need to spend that money and sign a replacement.

"But for £20 million, we could get a solid Championship replacement for a fraction of that, so it would be a great fee if we got that much for him.

"Considering we didn't pay any money for him and he's an academy graduate, £20 million profit, you can't argue with that."

Sunderland must prepare for life without Anthony Patterson

Patterson has come in for criticism from Sunderland supporters at times this season, but as shown by the reports of interest from Premier League clubs, his stock remains high.

Eddy may be right that Patterson is not worth £20 million, but that is a realistic price tag for a player of his talent in the current market, and it seems likely that one of his suitors would be willing to meet that figure.

The Black Cats' best chance of keeping hold of Patterson would be to win promotion, but with some of the biggest clubs in England circling, even that may not be enough to prevent his departure.

Given his lack of senior experience, there are question marks over whether Blondy Nna Noukeu would be ready to become Sunderland's number one just yet, and Simon Moore has been a back-up for much of his recent career, so the club must start looking at replacements ahead of Patterson's potential exit.