The 17-year-old midfielder is the son of former Sunderland player Michael Proctor, who joined the club in 1997 and stayed until 2004. Tom has been in the academy since he was four or five, and this season made his first-team debut as a substitute in the Carabao Cup against Hull City.
“Just a dream come true, really. Being here since I was four, five years old, every day I've been working towards that moment, and then to finally get my first sniff at first-team level was a dream come true, and hopefully the first of many,” he said.
Proctor is eager to learn from the senior players and turn that first appearance into further opportunities.
“Hopefully I keep getting better and better, and then, see what happens with the first team, see how many opportunities I can get, and see how much I can learn from players like Enzo, Riggy, and the best players in that group.”
His father has been an important influence, but the pair make a conscious effort to keep their relationship separate from football when they are at home.
“Sometimes we talk about football all the time, but then when we go home, we just switch off and just have a normal, really good, loving relationship. It's good to have him around, and I've learned quite a lot. He is harsh sometimes, but he's my dad, so he's going to be like that.”
Proctor knows being the son of a former Sunderland player brings expectations. He hopes supporters will judge him on his own performances.
“Hopefully, I can just start to be Tom, and people see me as Tom instead of Proc’s son. But it’s something I've got to work towards now; just got to live with it, haven't I?”
The midfielder was speaking ahead of Sunderland Under-21s’ Premier League International Cup fixture against Paris Saint-Germain at the Stadium of Light. He described it as a special chance to test themselves against one of Europe’s leading academies.
“It's really exciting, at the Stadium of Light to play against PSG should be really special and it's a team that you never really get to play against, so we'll see, we should see our level against one of the best teams.”