Sunderland will start to have a 'detailed conversation' with star striker Ross Stewart over a new contract now that the transfer window has closed, according to Kristjaan Speakman. Scotland international Stewart is in the final year of his current deal, although that contract includes an option for the Black Cats to extend his stay by a further 12 months.
Sporting director Speakman says the club has held ongoing talks with the 26-year-old since the Spring, but acknowledges that those discussions will need to ramp up in the coming weeks and months. Stewart was Sunderland's 26-goal top scorer last season as the club won promotion from League One via the play-offs, and he has already demonstrated that he is more than capable of making the step up to the Championship having scored five goals in seven games already this term.
"Ross is someone we've been having a conversation with surrounding his contractual status since the Spring, really, and they are ongoing, positive, conversations," said Speakman. "Ross has got this year left with us and then we have an option in Ross' contract so he still has 22 months left with us, so I don't think we are in a situation where there is any need to panic about it.
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"I appreciate that when you've got a player who is as high-profile as Ross, who has had the success, and who is a top guy and has come to Sunderland, adapted and delivered, what you want to do with anyone like that is to get them tied down [to a new contract]. We have to try to get to a solution on that at some point, but we want it to be right for Ross, we want it to be right for the football club, and I'm sure there is a sensible conclusion there at some point.
"You don't want those conversations to be running forever. We've had conversations, but neither side has been dialling up the pressure because there's been a transfer window and there have been so many other things going on.
"If Ross' contract was a year shorter then, naturally, it would have been closer to the top of the list. I've had loads of conversations with Ross. He is a top lad and he wants to play in a competitive team, and he wants to be the best version of himself.
"Now we've got the window out of the way we can probably have a bit more of a detailed conversation on, hopefully, getting that over the line."
Given Stewart's form in front of goal since he joined Sunderland from Ross County in January 2021, it is no surprise that he has attracted attention from other clubs and Scottish giants Rangers expressed an interest in him earlier in the summer. But Speakman says the club did not have to fend off interest in him on deadline day, insisting that that is because Sunderland are not seen as a 'selling club'.
"Not on deadline day, no," said Speakman, when asked if there was interest in Stewart at the end of the transfer window. "The market has been fairly quiet over the duration.
"Considering we are a newly-promoted team out of League One, I would guess that we are probably the third, fourth, fifth, highest net spenders in this league [which takes into account the fact that Sunderland have not sold any players]. If you look at the level of investment going into our club, there are probably not many that are competing without the income revenue.
"That's where the market is at, and that's fantastic for us because we think we have some really talented players and naturally people will be interested in them but I also think there is an understanding externally that we are not a selling club. I'm sure there are people who would have loved to have put a bid in for X, Y or Z, but they probably thought that there was no point in phoning us up because they knew what the answer was going to be, and that's also a really good progression for Sunderland."
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