BARROW ace Tom Beadling is on the brink of becoming the town's first Premier League player.

The 19-year-old is pushing for a place in Sunderland's first team, having been given the chance to impress on their tour of the USA and Canada.

Beadling was the youngest man on the tour and one of only a handful of under-21s players included in boss Dick Advocaat's squad to make the trip across the Atlantic.

The youngster, who has been involved with the Black Cats since he was eight, played half the match as Sunderland defeated Toronto 2-1 last week and played the full 90 minutes against Sacremento Repulic.

“The hard work starts now because I want to stay in the mix and experience more,” Beadling told the Chester-le-Street Advertiser. “I will keep working hard, keep my head down, and see what happens.

“There is a lot of experience in the squad, and I picked up new things every day, on and off the pitch.

"Getting minutes under my belt was great because that is what pre-season is all about, but to get them in the first team was even better and I felt I grew into the games.”

A centre-half by trade, Beadling was used in a full-back role for the match in California, though his regular presence in the side will give him confidence going forward.

He has yet to make his first-team debut for Sunderland, though he was included as an unused substitute several times last season.

Advocaat, who helped the North East side stay in the Premier League after initially taking over on a temporary basis, has followed predecessors Gus Poyet and Martin O'Neill in identifying the Barrow-born youngster's talent.

O'Neill and Poyet both oversaw extensions to his contracts at the Stadium of Light – the latest a three-year extension last year – while Advocaat has included him as a member of the first-team squad despite his age.

The Dutchman spoke before the start of the American tour of the possibility of loaning Beadling out during the course of the 2015/16 campaign, though the current lack of depth in his defence could hand the South Cumbrian his chance with Sunderland sooner rather than later.

He told the Sunderland Echo: “Tom Beadling is a promising young player.

“He’s a member of the squad now, although I might have to loan him out. But I think he can do something.”

Sunderland have now returned from their two-week tour of America and have two pre-season matches before starting their Premier League campaign against Leicester City.

Beadling will hope he can further stake his claim against Doncaster Rovers tomorrow night or on the trip to play German side Hannover 96 at the weekend.

If and when he makes a Premier League debut, Beadling would become the first Barrovian to play in the competition and the first to feature in the top-flight since England international Gary Stevens at Everton in 1988.