Sunderland are in pole position to beat the likes of Middlesbrough, Leeds United and Newcastle United to the signing of Luke Chapman from Hartlepool.  

Hartlepool are in the unfortunate position of seeing their academy shut down, which has led to Chapman’s availability and a host of clubs in the higher echelons of English football queuing up to sign him.

As per TEAMtalk, it is Sunderland currently in the driving seat to add the 17-year-old to their squad this summer, with the Black Cats allowing the striker to train with the club ahead of a potential move.

Quiz: Can you name every Sunderland top goalscorer from the last 13 seasons?

Middlesbrough were interested in offering an opportunity at a Championship club to the youngster, whilst there were two Premier League sides in the mix too.

Leeds have recently joined Newcastle in the Premier League and have set their focus on signing youngsters to bolster their ranks this summer.

However, that pair look set to miss out, with League One Sunderland in the driving seat in terms of luring Chapman into the club.

Phil Parkinson is currently in-charge of the first-team at the Stadium of Light and is preparing Sunderland for a third consecutive season in the third-tier.

The Verdict  

This is a decent little coup for Sunderland.

Of course, Chapman isn’t going to be the player to fire them back into the Championship, but it is important to build the club’s young pool of talent, which they are doing here.

Beating Newcastle, Middlesbrough and, to a lesser extent, Leeds to the signing makes things sweeter and there will be genuine hope that if the 17-year-old signs up, he eventually makes the grade on Wearside.

Thoughts? Let us know!