Things are really looking up at Sunderland at the moment.

With Kyril Louis-Dreyfus in control of things there's been a real feeling of change that will see the Black Cats change the way they operate from top to bottom.

That includes revamping their youth recruitment policy.

Sunderland have had some excellent talent coming through their youth set-up over the years, but who is seen as the best of the bunch?

Here are our top 10 Sunderland academy graduates.

The midfielder was born in Northumberland and joined the Black Cats at the age of just 10.

It was clear that he was set for a bright future at the age of 19 during the reign of Gus Poyet as manager.

Honeyman went on to make almost 100 appearances for Sunderland and became the first academy player to be club captain since Mickey Gray.

After spending a year with the club in League One the midfielder was sold to Hull City where he has since made over 80 appearances.

That includes a stunning season this term where he is already in double figures for assists as he looks to guide the Tigers into the Championship - something that would surely be a dream scenario if they can join the Wearsiders in the second tier.

The striker was born in South Shields and was handed his first opportunity in football with Sunderland.

Waghorn made his senior debut against Manchester United in December 2007 - the first of eight first team appearances for the Black Cats.

After a successful loan spell with Leicester City the frontman made the move to the Foxes, before moving on to Wigan Athletic and then Scottish giants Rangers.

Two successful seasons at Ibrox followed before he completed a move to Ipswich Town, before heading to Derby County where he is currently playing.

As per Transfermarkt, Waghorn has scored over 120 goals in his career which certainly earns him a place in our top 10.

There's no doubt that the midfielder is one of the more popular academy graduates to come through at Sunderland.

Leadbitter joined Sunderland at the age of 16 and made his break into the first team just a year later after making his debut at the age of 17.

The County Durham lad spent six years with the Black Cats before completing a move to Ipswich Town in 2009.

He spent three years with the Tractorboys before signing for Middlesbrough on a free transfer where he established himself as a vital player and club captain as the Teessiders secured promotion to the Premier League in 2016.

After falling out of favour at the Riverside Stadium Leadbitter rejoined his boyhood club Sunderland in 2019 where he is currently playing as captain as he looks to add to his 190+ appearances for the Wearsiders.

Another midfielder on the list but perhaps one who isn't quite as popular.

Colback was born in Newcastle but joined Sunderland's academy side at the age of 10 where he continued his development before breaking into the first team.

The midfielder went on to make 135 appearances for the Black Cats during a six-year spell before joining Newcastle United on a free transfer in the summer of 2014.

He made over 100 appearances for the Magpies before joining Nottingham Forest in 2018.

At 31 years of age Colback has struggled to make a real impact at the City Ground but after spending several years in the Premier League he deserves a spot in our top 10.

The Irish midfielder came through the youth ranks with Sunderland but chose to leave the club in 2010 at the end of his contract in favour of a move to Ipswich Town.

After a year with the Tractorboys Hourihane moved to Plymouth Argyle and that's when his career really got started.

Hourihane spent three years with Plymouth before joining Barnsley in 2014 - a club where he had 79 goal involvements in 134 appearances.

That earned him a move to Aston Villa in 2017 where he made 150 appearances to help the club to secure promotion to the Premier League and then to help them avoid the drop.

With first team opportunities limited this season the 30-year-old joined Swansea City on loan where he's really showed his quality as a vital part of their promotion push this term.

A real fans' favourite on Wearside.

Gray joined Sunderland as an apprentice and spent 12 years in the first team set-up - many of which were as club captain as the Wearsiders competed in the Premier League and Division One.

After leaving the club Gray went on to play for Blackburn Rovers, Leeds United, Wolves and Sheffield Wednesday before announcing his retirement in 2010.

Since then the former full-back forged a solid career as a pundit with the likes of TalkSPORT and BBC Sport where he's regularly seen reporting on Sunderland in the EFL.

There's no doubt that his love for the club runs deep and after spending so long with the club I think he's deserving of his spot in our rankings.

The defender started his career in England with Sunderland but had to wait until he left to get his career up and running.

Despite loan spells with Crystal Palace, Sheffield United, Bradford City and Southend United Egan went on to join Gillingham after reaching the end of his contract at the Stadium Of Light.

After two years with them he moved to Brentford where he made 71 appearances over two years before completing a move to Sheffield United.

Since returning to Bramall Lane Egan has really kicked on.

The 28-year-old is a key player for the Blades in the Premier League after making more than 100 appearances for the club and will no doubt be doing all that he can try to and help Sheffield United to pull off the impossible task of suffering relegation to the Championship.

The striker is surely one of the most talented players to come through the Sunderland ranks.

After growing up in North Shields Bridges burst onto the scene as one of the Premier League's most talented youngsters as he made 79 appearances for the club - most of which came as a teenager.

In 1999 he joined Leeds United for a fee of £5million where he went on to make 80 appearances for the club over his five years with the club.

Unfortunately injuries really hampered what looked set to be a wonderful career at the highest level as he struggled to reach those heights again and saw out his career with the likes of Bolton Wanderers, Bristol City, Hull City and Carlisle United.

While perhaps Bridges will likely be remembered as a player who's career was effectively cut short, there's little doubt that he's one of the most gifted players to come through the Sunderland academy and will be fondly remembered that way by supporters.

Like him or loathe him, Jordan Pickford is undoubtedly a real success story from Sunderland's academy.

Born in Washington, the goalkeeper stayed with Sunderland until 2017 after establishing himself as one of the top young stoppers in the English game.

His move to Everton made him the most expensive British goalkeeper of all-time, and the third-most expensive stopper in world football.

Since moving to the Toffees Pickford has established himself as an England regular and made himself a very popular man with a crucial penalty save against Colombia in the 2018 World Cup.

At 27 years of age there's still a lot more to come from the Sunderland lad and it'll be very interesting to see just how far he can go under Carlo Ancelotti at Goodison Park.

It's hard to look past Jordan Henderson as the most successful academy graduate.

The midfielder joined Sunderland at the age of eight after growing up in the city and went on to make 79 appearances for his hometown club.

In 2011 he completed a move to Liverpool for a reported fee of £20million but surely wouldn't even have dreamed of how successful his time at Anfield would be.

Henderson was made captain of Liverpool and went on to win the Premier League, the League Cup, the Champions League, The UEFA Super Cup and The Club World Cup in almost 400 appearances for the Reds.

As well as being a regular in the England side it's hard to find an area where Henderson hasn't achieved at the highest level and that's why he's a safe bet for being the best academy graduate from Sunderland.