Sunderland boss Lee Johnson has stated to Chronicle Live that he believes Callum Doyle is the best passer in Sky Bet League One. 

The Manchester City loanee made his highly anticipated debut for the Black Cats at the weekend and put in an assured display at the heart of defence as the North East outfit ran out 2-1 winners over Wigan Athletic at the Stadium of Light.

Doyle was partnered with Tom Flanagan as part of a back four and didn't look out of place up against former Sunderland striker Charlie Wyke, despite being just 17 years of age.

Now Johnson has made the following claim about the teenager as he lauded his debut performance at the weekend:

"You're never sure how these lads are going to react - the legs can turn to jelly, they can get a little elbow and suddenly they crumble.

"But Callum grew in stature as the game went on and his passing ability is already, in my opinion, the best in the division.

"Even today he didn't get as many line-cutting passes as he normally would, but you saw two or three diags that were weighty and full of quality.

"We had that little spell in the first half from about 20 minutes on where we were playing some really nice stuff, and it started from him."

Doyle is a play that City have very high hopes for and it appears that this loan spell could well be the making of him as he looks to impress Pep Guardiola and co.

Sunderland are back in action tonight as they travel to Vale Park to take on Port Vale in the Carabao Cup.

The Verdict 

It was a great debut from Doyle and I think we will only see him improve as he continues to work under Lee Johnson and his staff in the North East.

This was a smart move in the first place from the Black Cats who will be looking to reap the rewards of fostering a good relationship with Manchester City.

If they can help the teenager further along his development pathway, it could pave the way for more and more young players to come in on loan from the Premier League champions.

I for one will be intrigued to see if Doyle can maintain such a high level of performance throughout the coming season.