Sunderland’s decision to sell Ross Stewart in the summer was the ‘right’ one.
That’s according to Kristjaan Speakman, who suggested during the Red & White Army Q&A session that he has no regrets about offloading the striker after a ‘good offer’ came in.
Ross Stewart joined Sunderland from Ross County in 2021 for less than £300,000.
The Scot was initially understudy to Charlie Wyke, however when his former teammate made the switch to Wigan Athletic, Stewart stepped up.
The ‘important’ 27-year-old played a huge role in Sunderland’s promotion to the Championship, netting an impressive 26 goals in 49 games.
Stewart’s form continued into the second tier, bagging 10 goals in only 13 games. However, the forward suffered an Achilles injury in January and has remained on the sidelines ever since.
With Stewart’s contract set to expire next summer, there had been a lot of uncertainty surrounding his future.
The Scotland international had been linked with a host of clubs, but he looked set to remain on Wearside in the summer due to his injury.
However, late interest from Southampton led to Stewart eventually sealing a £10 million move to the south coast.
The Black Cats have now been left without an experienced goalscorer, but Speakman has insisted that his sale was the right decision.
Speakman was joined by Kyril-Louis Dreyfus, Steve Davison and David Bruce at yesterday’s Q&A.
Was it the right decision to sell Ross Stewart?
While it was hard to see such a talented striker leave Sunderland, it was the right decision.
The Scot had been injured for practically the whole year and it was unclear how long it would actually take him to be fully fit, while he may not even get back to his best.
Sunderland could have faced losing him for pennies in January, or he could have left for free next summer if we failed to win promotion.
Raking in £10m for an injured player with 12 months left on his contract was a very good deal.