Manchester United have sold goalkeeper Nathan Bishop to Sunderland for an undisclosed fee.
Bishop has joined the Black Cats on a three-year deal ahead of their Championship campaign getting underway against Ipswich on Sunday and will likely be a back-up option to Anthony Patterson.
After moving to the Stadium of Light, Bishop could barely hide his excitement at joining up with a side who were defeated in last season’s play-off semi-final.
‘You see the direction that the club is going, playing young players and allowing them to express themselves and push on in a great league,’ he told the club’s official website.
‘I think that is so exciting, so I want to come in and earn the right to play for such a great team and a great club.’
Man United goalkeeper Nathan Bishop has completed a permanent move to Sunderland
The 23-year-old joins the Championship outfit for an undisclosed fee on a three-year deal
Bishop was in the news last week after he was booed following a nasty collision with Paul Mullin in a pre-season friendly, which left the Wrexham striker with a punctured lung
Black Cats sporting director Kristjaan Speakman added: ‘Nathan is a player we have been tracking for some time and we’ve stayed patient to complete this transfer.
‘He’s ambitious, positive and focused on improving and trying to earn a place in the starting eleven. We want a challenging environment on the grass every day and we believe Nathan can add to what we feel is a really strong group of goalkeepers.
‘We thank Man Utd for their collaboration on this – it’s not always easy to align at the right moment, but we are happy Nathan is here prior to the season commencing.’
Bishop was subjected to boos from opposition supporters during United’s 3-1 loss to Wrexham last week after a brutal collision with Paul Mullin.
His challenge left Wrexham’s star man hospitalised with a punctured lung and it is unclear how long he will be out for.
But now, following the conclusion of United’s pre-season tour in the US, Bishop will have a fresh start in the north east after a permanent move with Tony Mowbray’s side was agreed.
The young custodian – who moved to Old Trafford from Southend in 2020 – didn’t make a competitive first-team appearance for the Red Devils but has been a part of the Under 21 side and enjoyed a superb loan spell with Mansfield in League Two in 2021-22.
He did feature on the bench in four Premier League games last season, while he also racked up four outings in the Papa Johns Trophy.
Upon his departure, Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag presented Bishop with a shirt signed by the first team squad after their friendly with Borussia Dortmund on Monday.
Mullin claimed to be fine and posted a thumb-up photo from his hospital bed at the time
Clearly, however, the collision had caused agony for the prolific 28-year-old marksman
Following his clash with Mullin, Bishop did apologise as he tweeted: ‘Just wanted to share my sincerest apologies to @PMullin7.
‘A complete misjudgement and a genuine accident with 0 malicious intent at all! Wishing you the speediest recovery and hope to see you back scoring goals as soon as possible!’
Mullin had relieved fans at the time by confirming he was okay with a thumbs-up picture from hospital. ‘Thank you for all your messages. All good here,’ he said.
Seeing the clash, referee Mark Allatin realised the severity of Mullin’s injury and urgently summoned Wrexham’s medical staff onto the pitch at the Snapdragon Stadium.
Bishop reached out to the Wrexham dressing-room to make contact with Mullin after the game, but manager Phil Parkinson was not in a forgiving mood.
He said: ‘I’m fuming about it, I’ve got to be honest with you. It was a clumsy, reckless, challenge in a pre-season game and I’m not happy with it at all.
‘I haven’t seen the goalie and he’s probably best steering clear of us for the time being because we’re not very happy.
‘It should have been a straight red [card]. If it’s not denying a goal-scoring opportunity it’s still a dangerous challenge so if you add the two scenarios together he should have been off the pitch.’
Bishop was only given a yellow card but was later substituted for Radek Vitek – though Erik ten Hag’s side insisted that change was pre-planned.
Parkinson added: ‘It’s a dangerous challenge and obviously Paul Mullin is our talisman. The way the lads responded after that I thought was outstanding. That’s what we’re all about as a group – resilience, sticking together.’
Mullin needed oxygen after being clattered into while through on goal in the first half
Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson was furious that Bishop was not given a red card for the incident
Mullin scored 47 goals in all competitions last season as Wrexham surged to the National League title.
In a record-breaking season fuelled by a battle with Notts County, they racked up 111 points.
It is not known how long Mullin will be out for, but he is currently staying with Wrexham co-owner Rob McElhenney in California while he recovers.
The Red Dragons begin their League Two campaign with a home fixture against MK Dons on Saturday.
