Carlisle United have sent striker Anton Dudik out on loan to National League North.

The young Ukrainian forward has linked up with South Shields for an initial month.

United hope Dudik will gain important first-team experience at the sixth-tier outfit.

The 19-year-old has been in the first-team squad this season as well as making his full debut.

He now heads to the north east and could make his South Shields debut at Brackley Town this weekend.

Dudik, who joined Carlisle in January under Paul Simpson, has made three first-team appearances in his time with the Blues.

Two came last season as substitute appearances in League One.

This campaign his first start came in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy against Wigan Athletic.

Dudik has been on the bench a number of times, including Tuesday night's 3-1 defeat at Walsall.

But now head coach Mike Williamson has opted to secure loan experience for the young forward.

His new club sit 16th in National League North and their head coach is former Newcastle United Under-23s boss Elliott Dickman.

The South Shields squad includes the former Carlisle youth defender Dillon Morse and the ex-Blues loan midfielder Martin Smith.

Dudik joined the club on the same day as Leeds United right-back Joe Richards, who has also signed on a one-month loan deal.

The young Ukrainian had been on the books of Volyn Lutsk and Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine and Slask Wroclaw in Poland.

The young player and his mother subsequently moved to England amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

After joining the Cumbrians on a short-term deal last season, he was awarded a new one-year contract by Simpson in the summer.