Sunderland defender Zak Johnson joins Notts County on loan

SUNDERLAND defender Zak Johnson has joined Notts County on loan for the remainder of the season.

The 20-year-old defender links up with the League Two side, who are currently sitting in sixth position and pushing for promotion.

Johnson has trained with Sunderland’s senior squad on a regular basis this season, and made senior appearances in both the Carabao Cup defeat to Preston and last weekend’s FA Cup loss to Stoke City.

Having previously had loan spells with Hartlepool United and Dundalk, Johnson will now spend the remainder of the campaign at Meadow Lane.

Sunderland academy manager, Robin Nicholls, said: “Zak is at a stage in his career where he has gained some excellent experiences, with two senior loans and a youth international selection under his belt.

“We are delighted that he will be spending the second half of the season with Stuart’s side and we firmly believe that he will be able to play an important role in Notts County achieving their goals.”

Now though, Millwall want to sign Connolly from Sunderland in January. That should become very alarming news for Sunderland who’d surely then need to dip into the market to sign another striker before deadline day.

Several names have been linked, including a couple of exciting ones of late. Ben Brereton Diaz has been linked with Sunderland, though Sheffield United seem to be leading that race. Elsewhere, long-term target Tom Cannon is once again on the Black Cats’ radar. Per Capology, he earns £8,000-a-week at Leicester City.

Trey Ogunsuyi latest could spell Sunderland striker plans for January

Connolly isn’t the only striker who could leave the Stadium of Light in January. Recent reports state that Trey Ogunsuyi could leave Sunderland on loan before deadline day. The Liverpool-linked striker made his senior debut against Stoke over the weekend.