Sunderland are unlikely to sell Ross Stewart this summer.
That’s according to journalist Alan Nixon, who has admitted he ‘can’t see’ the striker leaving Wearside before transfer deadline day.
Stewart has attracted plenty of interest this year despite an Achilles injury that has kept him sidelined since January.
The Scot netted an impressive 10 goals in only 13 matches prior to his absence and he finished as the club’s joint-second top scorer – despite being out for half the season.
With Southampton one of the latest clubs to join the race to sign Stewart this summer, a report by Sunderland Nation claimed that the 27-year-old had turned down a new contract and was open to making the move to the south coast.
Stewart’s potential exit came as a surprise as he isn’t due to return from injury until late September, meaning a bid for the forward now could be a huge risk.
Despite Southampton’s interest and Stewart’s eagerness to leave the Stadium of Light, it now looks like he could remain at the club beyond this month.
The Scotland international’s current contract will expire next summer, meaning Sunderland will either have to sell him in January on the cheap or move him on for free at the end of the season – unless he changes his mind and puts pen to paper on a new deal.
It is hard to see the positive of Ross Stewart staying at Sunderland if he doesn’t sign a new contract
Usually you would be delighted to see your star striker stay at your club, but maybe not when it isn’t really their choice.
If Ross Stewart wasn’t set to be sidelined for a total of eight months then he would undoubtedly be snapped up this summer, leaving the Black Cats as his second choice – if reports are to be believed.
While Tony Mowbray’s side are in for a real treat if their ‘very important’ attacker ends up signing a new contract, they aren’t really benefiting much if he doesn’t.
The club could only get a couple of months out of him if they were to sell him on in January, while making absolutely zero cash from him next summer would be a huge disaster.