Dan Ballard amassed 30 appearances in all competitions for Blackpool during a successful season-long loan stay in 2021.

Dan Ballard has highlighted his Blackpool loan stay as a key reason behind his new-found success with Sunderland.

The 26-year-old’s stock is on the rise after an outstanding start to the campaign at the Stadium of Light, which has seen him establish himself as one of the Premier League’s players of the season so far.

The defender grabbed the headlines earlier in the month as he netted in a spectacular 2-2 draw against runaway leaders - and former club - Arsenal.

His success comes more than four years after a successful season-long loan stay at Bloomfield Road, where he played a key role in Neil Critchley’s League One play-off winning side.

Ballard amassed 30 appearances in all competitions for Blackpool before a stint at Millwall the following campaign.

After making the move to Sunderland in 2022, the ex-Arsenal man has enjoyed immense success and scored in the Black Cats’ play-off final triumph at Wembley in May.

Sunderland ace Dan Ballard credits Blackpool as stock grows

And with his stock firmly on the rise, the defender has credited Blackpool for helping him grow in professional football, which has helped pave the way for his Premier League success.

In an interview with GiveMeSport, he said: ‘All my learning experiences helped me, helped me grow as a player.

‘I had a great year at Blackpool. We got promoted there, and then going to Millwall was special in its own way.

‘And that was the first year playing in front of fans after COVID, and thankfully, I've done really well.

‘I managed to sort of get the support of the fans quite early on, and feel like we had a great, great connection while I was there. I really felt the support from them. They helped me in that first year in the Championship.’

Dan Ballard’s impressive start to the season

Ballard has been a revelation in an outstanding start to the season for Sunderland, who have been one of the surprise packages in the Premier League this term.

And the central defender has been hugely impressed with how the opening three months of the campaign has gone so far in the north east.

‘We've had a fantastic start as a team. Going up through the play-offs, there's no better feeling, and it really brings a squad together. We've added a lot of new players this summer, and things are going really well.

‘There's always that bit of doubt about you being involved, but I’ve managed to get quite a bit of game time in the Premier League this year, so we're extremely confident.

‘There's a lot of lads who deserve the opportunity to play in the Premier League, but haven't quite got that chance yet. So there's a really exciting group.’

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