Sanderson was snapped up on a loan deal from Premier League side Wolves on domestic deadline day after Sunderland’s defence was left shorthanded following the injury of centre-back Arbenit Xhemajli.
The 20-year-old made his first appearance for Sunderland in a 2-2 draw away at Rochdale in the League One in midweek, playing the whole 90 minutes.
Parkinson is impressed by the way the Black Cats new boy performed in his first outing for the Wearside giants, with the Sunderland boss also lauding the 20-year-old’s character.
“Dion Sanderson is a good young player who played Championship football and we like his character a lot”, Parkinson said in a press conference.
“We threw him in there the other night and I thought he did well.”
Parkinson is also looking forward to squaring off against Gillingham at the weekend and the 52-year-old is expecting to face a resilient home side at Priestfield.
“We know what to expect, they will be similar to last season in the way they play.
“Steve Evans has recruited some decent players and they started well before having an indifferent spell. “
Sanderson suffered a slight knock on the knee at Rochdale and his fitness will be assessed ahead of the Gillingham game.
Gillingham have lost their last four League One games on the bounce.
