Ross Stewart's contract situation remains unresolved with Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray admitting the club could do with some clarity over his long-term future. Negotiations over a new deal have dragged on since last summer and, even though the Black Cats last season activated their option to extend his stay for a further 12 months, Stewart is currently in the final year of his current contract.
Mowbray was asked on a near-weekly basis last season about Stewart's status but there was little he could say given that contract talks are part of sporting director Kristjaan Speakman's remit. Speakman himself said recently that the signals he was getting were that the Scotland international 'would like to stay' and refused to disclosed whether the Black Cats had received any bids for the striker, who is known to have attracted interest from Glasgow Rangers amongst other clubs.
In the meantime Stewart, who turned 27 yesterday, is still working his way back towards full fitness after suffering a ruptured Achilles in January which cut short his season and which will also see him miss the start of the new campaign in three-and-a-half weeks' time. Despite missing almost three-quarters of last season, Stewart still reached double figures in terms of goals after finding the net 10 times in 13 games and that underlined his importance to the team.
