Sunderland and Wycombe Wanderers close to summer deal | OneFootball

Sunderland's lack of need for the 23-year-old is set to help the Wanderers fill their need for a shot-stopper.

Sunderland goalkeeper Nathan Bishop is reportedly edging closer to completing a loan move to League One side Wycombe Wanderers.

The summer of 2024 is set to be one of big changes for the Black Cats. They finally have a new, permanent head coach after four months of waiting, and all the plans on the football side of the club should start to kick into gear now that Regis Le Bris has been confirmed as the next boss.

There are lots of questions that still need answering. Who's going to be part of Le Bris' backroom staff? What's going to happen with some of the lingering contract situations? What plans are in place for if some of their best players get poached by other clubs?

Touching on those latter two queries, the players now have much more clarity than they did a week ago. The likes of Chris Rigg and Dan Neil had been waiting to see what happened with the head coach debacle before committing their future to the club.

Now that they have their man, the chances of tying down the midfield duo has likely increased, although they may both hold out until further notice to see how Le Bris performs.

The Frenchman will need to decide if a contingency plan is necessary for the likes of Jack Clarke, who has attracted top flight interest for the best part of a year now.

Things seem to be moving well on the backroom staff front. Two assistants from the new 48-year-old boss' former club, Lorient, are being pursued by Sunderland, according to Graham Falk.

One deal that looks to already be in motion may get signed, sealed and delivered before Le Bris does his first address to the media, with the Black Cats' young goalkeeper, Bishop, set for a temporary move away from the Stadium of Light.

Nathan Bishop edging closer to Wycombe Wanderers move

The former Manchester United shot-stopper is reported to be nearing a deal to sign for Wycombe on loan, according to the Northern Echo.

Sunderland's only signing of the summer so far is veteran keeper Simon Moore, who will formally join the club at the start of July after leaving Coventry City.

With him and Patterson now in the ranks, the Black Cats are happy to let Bishop, 23, go out and get some first team experience elsewhere, as it is unlikely to come to him if he's still at the Stadium of Light.

Similarly, young Sunderland glovesman Alex Bass joined Notts County last week after an impressive season-long spell with AFC Wimbledon last time out.

Wycombe should be excited by Nathan Bishop news

Wanderers don't have an obvious number one at the moment. The only keeper that they have under contract, as things stand, is Laurie Shala, who is yet to make a first team appearance for the club.

A deal has been offered to Franco Ravizzoli - whether he agrees to stay following his latter half of the season spell as the number one is still up in the air.

Regardless of which position Bishop slots into in the goalkeeping ladder, he will be a very useful asset to have. His last loan spell with Mansfield Town showed him to be a very capable option between the sticks in the EFL. He kept 14 clean sheets while saving 68% of the shots that he faced.