Millwall plotting transfer for out of favour Sunderland AFC player - he's an Alex Neil favourite | OneFootball

Anthony Patterson's signature is wanted by a host of Championship sides

Millwall FC are reportedly the latest Championship club to enter the transfer race involving current Sunderland outcast and goalkeeper, Anthony Patterson.

That is according to Alan Nixon - via Patreon - which emerged on Wednesday evening, as Alex Neil looks to bolster his goalkeepers union with a familar face, having worked alongside the Black Cats shot-stopper during his previous managerial stint at the Stadium of Light in 2022.

It has been well-documented that Sunderland broke spending records for a newly-promoted side entering the Premier League during the previous transfer window, with owner, Kyril Louis-Dreyfus providing French boss, Regis Le Bris, with a staggering £161.7m to pack out a reshaped squad across several departments.

As such, a whole host of players who had previously been instrumental in the Wearside club's eventual resurgence out of League One under Neil and later in the Championship, have been deemed surplus-to-requirements, with Patterson appearing to fall into said category alongside former captains, Luke O'Nien and Dan Neil, who have also been heavily linked with a return to the second tier.

The Championship table has been extremely congested throughout the campaign thus far, meaning that the current transfer window is being viewed as a critical opportunity for a whole host of sides vying for automatic promotion or, at worst, a play-off place, to gain an advantage over several rivals.

Millwall came close to breaking a 23-year absence from the second tier play-offs last term after a vast improvement in terms of results during Neil's first six months in charge after his appointment in place of Neil Harris 13 months ago, and they are currently in the mix once more at the start of 2026.

The Lions currently find themselves in fifth with 20 matches remaining, and are only three points behind second-placed Middlesbrough as things stand.

And, with goalkeeper previously being a 'problem position' for the South London club, the addition of last season's play-off final winning shot-stopper could improve their chances of a first top flight stint in 36 years tenfold.

As previously mentioned, the goalkeeping department has been somewhat of an issue for Neil in recent weeks and months, largely down to Lukas Jensen's misfortune.

The former Lincoln City goalkeeper suffered a serious achilles injury in April that was set to rule him out for the remainder of 2025, before the Dane suffered another recent quadricep blow when featuring for the Under-21s in order to build up his match fitness and sharpness after his previous lengthy absence.

Neil has confirmed that Jensen will be out for "months", whilst Steven Benda's loan stint from Fulham was cut short earlier this week, with the former Swansea City man making just nine appearances - the last of which came on October 4th in a 3-0 success over West Bromwich Albion, before he also suffered an initial groin injury ahead of a return to the substitutes bench behind New Zealand international, Max Crocombe.

Nixon now reports that Neil is chasing a loan reunion with his former Black Cats colleague in a bid to add further depth and experience to his goalkeepers union, with Patterson recently missing out on a loan switch to fellow Championship side, Southampton.

Indeed, the Saints' own goalkeeping department has undergone a reshuffle at the beginning of the transfer window. However, whilst Tonda Eckert has sanctioned a loan switch, with an option-to-buy, to Stoke City for Gavin Bazunu, the Republic of International has seen his place at St Mary's taken up by Daniel Peretz, who is on loan from Bayern Munich.

However, the South Coast side are not the only other Championship side who have been linked with a move for the North Shields native, with Queens Park Rangers and Leicester City also reportedly taking an interest in the goalkeeper, who, according to Capology, earns an ESTIMATED salary of £20,000 per week.

It was Neil who gave Patterson his big break with Sunderland, becoming the Black Cats' regular number one under the Scotsman after his appointment in February 2022, where he was able to take them back to the Championship via the League One play-offs within a few months of arriving on Wearside.

And he's now looking to link up with Patterson once more to solve Millwall's struggles in an important area of the pitch.

Millwall FC, Sunderland loan agreement for Anthony Patterson would benefit all parties

Despite being prone to the occasional mishap, most Championship clubs would view a loan swoop for Patterson as smart business - especially Millwall, given their aforementioned situation.

Patterson also needs to be playing week-in, week-out, having only made one competitive appearance all season due to the arrival of the impressive Robin Roefs at the Stadium of Light, and this could be guaranteed under the man who handed him his senior breakthrough on Wearside.

The 25-year-old is under contract at his boyhood club until 2028 at present, though, meaning it remains to be seen what the future holds in terms of a permanent exit down the line.