Morecambe have signed Australian youth international Marcus Neill on a one-month loan from Sunderland. The 18-year-old forward joins until November 19 to add depth to the Shrimps' attack.
Neill arrives with a strong scoring pedigree from Sunderland's academy, where he contributed 48 goals and assists in 67 youth appearances. Last season he netted 16 goals and provided seven assists in 30 outings for the Under-18s. He has also featured for Sunderland's Under-21 side in Premier League 2 and the EFL Trophy, and scored the winner for Australia's Under-19s in an ASEAN Championship semi-final in June.
His move to the Mazuma Stadium comes as Morecambe sit 11th in the National League North on 17 points after 12 games, a record of five wins, two draws and five losses. The team has scored 18 goals and conceded 12 this season for a plus-six goal difference. Their recent form of two wins, one draw and two losses was exemplified by their last result, a 3-1 away win at Merthyr Town on Saturday 24 October, with goals from P. Lewis, T. O'Kane and I. Buckley. This followed a 2-1 defeat at AFC Rushden & Diamonds on Saturday 17 October and a 2-1 loss at Worksop Town on Saturday 10 October. Prior to that, they beat Darlington 1883 3-0 at home on Saturday 3 October and drew 1-1 at Oxford City on Saturday 26 September.
The club faces a run of three home league fixtures during Neill's loan spell, starting with a match against 22nd-placed Darlington 1883 this Tuesday 27 October. Neill is the second young loan arrival in a week, following Luca Davis from Everton, as the squad is reshaped. The forward, who is the son of former Socceroos captain Lucas Neill, signed his first professional contract with Sunderland this past summer before making the temporary switch to Lancashire. Morecambe will hope his goal threat can help close the nine-point gap to league leaders Hereford. His first opportunity to feature could come against Darlington at home on October 27.
This story first appeared at Lancaster Guardian Football
