A Sunderland prospect has captured the attention of one team-mate during the first loan spell of his career.

Sunderland youngster Caden Kelly has been described as ‘a star of the future’ as he looks to make an impact during the first loan spell of his career.

The former Manchester City and Salford City academy player joined the Black Cats youth setup in 2020 and penned his first professional deal just under two years later after making his senior debut in a Papa Johns Trophy group stage win against Manchester United Under-21s during the previous season. After appearing in first-team friendly fixtures, Kelly made his second senior appearance as a late substitute in the 2-0 Carabao Cup first round defeat against Sheffield Wednesday in August 2022 - but his first meaningful senior experience has come during a loan spell with National League North club Darlington during the current campaign.

Kelly is one of Sunderland’s academy players who was regularly training with the first team last season, while playing regularly for the under-21s team. The 19-year-old forward has made two appearances for the senior side, one of which came in the Carabao Cup against Sheffield Wednesday last season, but has been sidelined with an injury at the start of this campaign.

placeholder image — Kelly is one of Sunderland’s academy players who was regularly training with the first team last season, while playing regularly for the under-21s team. The 19-year-old forward has made two appearances for the senior side, one of which came in the Carabao Cup against Sheffield Wednesday last season, but has been sidelined with an injury at the start of this campaign.

Kelly initially linked up with the Quakers in October as the next stage of his development was placed into the hands of former Newcastle United star Steve Watson. The attacking midfielder has impressed in non-league’s second tier with three goals in 23 appearances as Darlo look to continue their push for a play-off place between now and the end of the season. Quakers captain Scott Barrow has been impressed with what he has witnessed by Kelly during his time at Blackwell Meadows and believes Sunderland have a real talent on their hands.

He told The Echo: “He’s doing really well and he’s definitely a talent, an unbelievable talent. You see that in training, you see it in games and it’s a massive learning curve for any player coming from a Championship club into the National League North because you can’t always play the pretty football you always want to do. There are times when you have to put your body on the line and dig deep and maybe it was an eye-opener for him against Brackley on Saturday because they go long quite a lot and we have a lot of young players in our squad. For him, he’s probably thought it was a major eye-opener but he is a special talent and I think he can be a star of the future.”

Kelly’s initial loan with Darlington was extended to the end of the season last month after the Irish youngster spent time on trial at League One club Stockport County. Barrow pointed to the attacking midfielder’s attitude and work ethic as key attributes that can help him enjoy a successful career once his loan stint in non-league comes to an end in May.

The former Gateshead defender said: “If the attitude is right coming into a non-league club, your attitude will be spot on when you go back from that loan. His attitude is spot on, he wants to be the best player he can be, he wants to be the best player on the pitch and Caden just needs to keep on learning, keep on working hard and he will be one to watch for all of us.”

Following Tuesday night’s visit to local rivals Spennymoor Town, Kelly’s side will be back in action on Saturday when they make the long trip to Hereford.

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