A student lookalike who has been mistaken for SAFC goalkeeper Anthony Patterson has considered the possibility that they could be related.
Leon Wastell-Ayre was told by members of his Middlesbrough supporting family that he looked a lot like the 22-year-old Sunderland goalkeeper when the two teams faced-off earlier this season. Leon, who is a goalkeeper himself and plays football for Middlesbrough College, realised the similarities in appearance, and now suspects the pair could even be related.
The 18-year-old, who lives in Billingham and was adopted, says it's probably unlikely the pair are long-lost brothers, but insists "you never know", as his birth mother is from Wearside and Patterson hails from North Shields.
Read more: Tony Mowbray on how his 'trust' in Sunderland's talented young players is being repaid
As an experiment, 6ft Leon - who doesn't follow a football team - decided to take a trip up to the Stadium of Light for the Sunderland v Watford match this weekend to see if fans would mistake him for the first-team keeper before kick-off.
Speaking to ChronicleLive, Leon said: "My brother-in-law and sister are both Boro fans and they went to a home game when they played Sunderland and came back and told me I look extremely like Anthony Patterson.
"I then had a look at myself and agreed there were some similarities - we look more alike from the side. A few of my mates from college also agreed so I decided to go to the Sunderland game on Saturday to see what would happen if I turned up."
After taking the trip up from Teesside, Leon was unable to secure a ticket for the match due to it being a sell-out, so went into the club shop in the lead up to kick-off after kitting himself out in SAFC training gear - which he'd bought a few days earlier. It wasn't long before fans started approaching him.
"It started off, I was in the club shop getting some joggers and there were two women who initially thought I was the keeper", he said, "I then walked around the stadium and had loads of people shouting Anthony Patterson at me.
"I was walking through a car park and a guy ran up to me and put his arm around me asking for a photo. He was quite shocked when I explained I wasn't Anthony Patterson. When the match ended, I stood where the players came out, not a lot happened but when I saw Patterson come out I moved out of the crowd and an old lady came up to me asking for a photo before another guy asked me to sign his football. Three kids ran up to me as well, it was a good laugh."
Leon, who is hoping to undertake a coaching degree with Middlesbrough FC, says his sister, Jodie Lamb, 31, believes there's more to it than just a coincidence in appearance. He continued: "My sister is convinced that we could be related because I'm actually adopted. My birth-mam is from Sunderland."
He added: "I honestly don't know if we're related, I wouldn't know. There's not a lot on his history because he's only been in the public eye for a couple of years. But you never know, there is a chance."
Read next:
- Tony Mowbray has already hinted at Sunderland's Anthony Patterson stance amid Leicester interest
- Sunderland's homegrown keeper Anthony Patterson earns first England U21 call-up
- Tony Mowbray on how his 'trust' in Sunderland's talented young players is being repaid
- Chris Wilder brands Watford 'sloppy' after they blew a two-goal lead at Sunderland
- Tony Mowbray says Sunderland's task is now clear with their play-off hopes resting on the final day
