BORN ON THIS DAY: KEIREN WESTWOOD

Born on this day is former SAFC shot-stopper Keiren Westwood. The ex Republic of Ireland international played for the lads between 2011 and 2014.

Before arriving on Wearside, Westwood had made his name in the English Football League. He had already racked up over 100 appearances for both Carlisle United and Coventry City before signing for Sunderland as a 26-year-old.

His signing in 2011 raised questions over Craig Gordon’s future, who was currently injured and would eventually leave Sunderland in 2012. It was a busy summer at SAFC, with gaffer Steve Bruce signing 11 players in total. That included Westwood of course, as well as the defensive pairing of Brown and O’Shea from Manchester United. Seb Larsson also joined on a free transfer, with strike duo Connor Wickham and Ji Dong-Won costing over £10 million collectively.

Bruce said: "Keiren has proven to be an exceptional goalkeeper both in the Championship and at international level and he has certainly been one of the best in this country outside of the Premier League in recent seasons. We are obviously delighted that Keiren sees his future here at Sunderland and we are looking forward to him joining what is a talented group of goalkeepers at the club."

Despite signing in July, Westwood began the season as Simon Mignolet’s understudy. He had to wait until late October to make his debut, replacing the Belgian keeper after he suffered a broken nose in a 2-2 draw with Aston Villa. He made a couple of really smart saves to deny former Sunderland man Darren Bent from scoring, including a particularly impressive stop with his feet.

But when Mignolet made a full recovery, he was back in as first choice. The Belgian would go from strength to strength, and there was no way for Westwood to fight his way back into the side.

Mignolet eventually left for Liverpool, and we signed Vito Mannone. Westwood did begin the season as first-choice and was a solid choice between the sticks, but Mannone eventually usurped him as number one, and Westwood was released at the end of the 2013/14 season having been a sub in the League Cup final and barely featuring towards the end of his stint at SAFC.

He was 28 by then, and had spent most of his career (other than Sunderland) in the lower leagues of the EFL. He signed for Sheffield Wednesday in 2014, and thrived at the club winning the Owls’ Player of the Year on multiple occasions.

He was a huge fan favourite but left in 2021 after their relegation to League One and now, after brief stints with QPR and Crewe Alexander, is now Head of Goalkeeping at The New Saints who play in the Welsh League.