Season › 2022-23 › News Everton U21s defender Joe Anderson moves to Sunderland Michael Kenrick 30/01/2023 3comments | Jump to last Everton U21s defender Joe Anderson has completed a permanent move to Sunderland on Deadline Day, signing a 3½-year deal for an undisclosed fee. Approaching his 22nd birthday next week, Joe Anderson still had 18 months on his Everton contract but had not moved beyond training with the first team for a while under Carlo Ancelotti, and had made no senior appearances with the club. Anderson joined the Academy aged 15 in July 2016 following time spent with Liverpool. He broke through into the Under-18s during the 2017-18 season but ended up switching from midfield to playing as a centre-back the following season and moved up the ranks from there. Anderson signed a 2-year deal, his first professional contract, in July 2019, after providing a key role in this position for the Under-18s side. He then moved up to the U23s and sat out only four Premier League 2 fixtures in the 2020-21 season while playing the full game in 14 of his 19 appearances. Article continues below video content He further consolidated his position as first-choice defender and captain with the Under-23s in what would become their final season, doing enough to earn a 2-year contract extension in July 2022. Solid displays at the heart of defence continued with the newly branded U21s this season and, on the strength of them, he went to Australia with the club during the World Cup break, coming on for 15 minutes in the second half of the friendly against Western Sydney Wanderers. He goes to the Championship with Sunderland without having been out on loan during his 7 years with the Everton Academy. The North East club had been missing Ellis Simms who was recalled from his season-long loan with them earlier in January, and it is clear that manager Tony Mowbray sees this as a chance to boost his depleted squad. Mowbray says that Anderson will add depth on the left side of Sunderland’s defence and that he expects the player to develop into a regular over time. "Joe fits the profile of player we want to keep adding to the club and we look forward to supporting his development in a senior environment,” Mowbray said. “The talent and potential is there and although he may need time to develop physically in the next weeks and months, he will add immediate competition and depth to our squad. “A left-footed, left-sided central defender, which is a rarity, he can distribute the ball well from the back and connect defence with midfield – he is going to be a real long-term asset for the club.” Reader Comments (3) Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer () Dupont Koo 1 Posted 30/01/2023 at 23:58:04 Getting a fee (regardless of how nominal it is) before a youngster is "found out by the rest of the Football League" is always better than the eventual free transfer. We shall also retain a future share in every future transfer(s) as the "Training Club".The amount might not matter much at this moment, considering how much we are in red with our books. But it is never too late to start doing this more frequently with our youngsters who wouldn't pan out, a common way amongst other Premier League Clubs to help replenishing their financial coffers that Kenwright & his entourage ignored since the turn of the century. Phil Smith 2 Posted 31/01/2023 at 15:50:38 Good luck to the lad. Obviously not good enough for us. Hope he gets some game time for them and forces his way in... in time. Phil Smith 3 Posted 06/02/2023 at 03:30:59 See he made his debut at the weekend due to a couple of injuries. Well done, lad. Better some more of the older U23 squad be moved out now to try and break into other Championship and lower division sides. Add Your Comments In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site. » Log in now Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site. How to get rid of these ads and support TW © ToffeeWeb