Eyebrows may have been raised when Manchester City's 17-year-old centre-back Callum Doyle was snapped up by League One promotion-chasers Sunderland on loan last summer.
Doyle had impressed for the Under-23s for City, but wasn't pushing the first team and there was plenty of pressure attached to a Sunderland side who just couldn't get out of the third tier. But Doyle quickly settled in at the Stadium of Light and was a regular at centre-back under Lee Johnson.
However, when Johnson was sacked and replaced by Alex Neil, Doyle found himself out of the side as Sunderland pressed on towards promotion. He played a supporting role in their eventual play-off win, coming off the bench in the final, but was a central figure in their on-pitch celebrations at Wembley, sporting a huge smile as he celebrated promotion in his first year as a senior player. In total, he made 44 appearances, starting 34 times.
