Former Sunderland defender Stephen Elliott has claimed that Dion Sanderson "has a huge future in the game" and is the best loan signing they've made since Jonny Evans. 

The 21-year-old joined on loan from Wolves in October but has really started to establish himself since the arrival of Lee Johnson.

Sanderson has missed just two League One during Johnson's tenure and was instrumental in their 3-0 win against Burton Albion yesterday.

With Bailey Wright and Jordan Willis both missing due to injury, the Wolves loanee impressed as part of Sunderland's back three and helped them keep a clean sheet.

He made seven clearances, won four defensive duels, and finished with 85% accuracy (Sofascore) – illustrating how well-rounded his performance was.

Sanderson certainly seems to have turned some heads, with Elliot taking to Twitter yesterday to heap praise on him.

He's even compared him to Evans, who was hugely impressive when he joined on loan from Manchester United in the second-half of the 2006/07 and 2007/08 campaigns.

Sanderson's contract with Wolves is set to expire next summer, which indicates the Premier League club may feel they need to make a decision about his future at the end of this season.

The Verdict

This is a bold claim from Elliott but Sanderson looks a really bright prospect and yesterday's performance should have Black Cats fans excited as we head toward the business end of the season.

It was something of a makeshift back three, with neither Luke O'Nien or Conor McLaughlin centre-backs by trade, but the 21-year-old helped them keep a clean sheet and claim all three points.

Sunderland fans will be hoping he can continue to produce that sort of quality as it would be a huge boost for their promotion hopes.

The defender will surely be hungry to keep proving himself, particularly with his Wolves contract set to expire next summer.