Northern League side Boldon CA surprised as they sign highly-coveted ex-Sunderland midfielder

The 22-year-old was released by the Black Cats at the end of the 2017/18 season and immediately joined South Shields after spending a loan spell at Mariners Park during the campaign.

The midfielder had further loan spells with the likes of Newton Aycliffe and Whitley Bay during his time with the Mariners.

A permanent move to Northern League champions Dunston UTS was secured at the start of last season, but the former England under-17 player ended the campaign with Boldon’s Northern League neighbours Hebburn Town.

Wright was without a club when the season was brought to a premature end and snubbed offers from higher up the non-league pyramid to join Boldon after holding talks with Crumbie.

He will now play a key role for the club during the upcoming Wearside League season and the Boldon boss is keen to make the most of his surprise capture.

He told The Gazette: “We spoke to Daniel for a week and we got the impression that he just wasn’t sure about the move.

“He had offers from clubs higher up than our position, so it was a bit of a surprise to get him signed on.

“We showed him the ground, we told him about the club’s ambitions, and we discussed how we wanted to make him one of our main players.

“He knows how important he will be in our side and I think he’s maybe not had that during his career.

“He was one of our main targets, it was that important to get him signed and I think he appreciated that.

“It’s never been about the money for him, he just wants to play football and enjoy it once again.

“Hopefully we can help him do that and we can get the best out of him during the season.”

Meanwhile, Boldon have been handed a bye into the first round of this season’s Durham Challenge Cup after the preliminary round draw was released on Tuesday.