Dan Ballard, Jack Rudoni, Ross Stewart: All the latest Sunderland transfer news | OneFootball

Sunderland had a successful season last year as they achieved their aim of gaining promotion back to the Championship after a four year absence.

The side improved following the appointment of Alex Neil in February and the manager took them all the way to play-offs where they saw off Sheffield Wednesday and Wycombe Wanderers to go up.

However, despite their celebrations, Neil will be keen to turn his attentions to next season as he wants his side not only to survive in the league above, but compete and push as far up the table as they can.

The Black Cats have got some important contracts signed so far but there is still plenty of work to be done in preparation for the new season.

With that in mind, here we take a look at the latest transfer news at Sunderland.

Daniel Ballard

Ballard had a strong season on loan with Millwall last year. The 22-year-old got himself a solid place in the side as he made 31 appearances.

The centre-back proved to be reliable defensively and even scored a goal too.

This summer he returned to parent club Arsenal and now it seems there is a chance for him to leave the club to further develop his game.

There are a fair number of clubs said to be interested in him this summer but according to the Chronicle, it is the Black Cats who look most likely to sign him.

It’s yet to be seen whether this deal could go through but it would be a brilliant bit of business from Sunderland if they could get it done.

Quiz: Can you name which club Sunderland sold these 23 players to from the last decade?

1 of 23

Asamoah Gyan

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Jack Rudoni

Rudoni is another man receiving plenty of attention this summer following AFC Wimbledon’s relegation to League Two last summer.

The 21-year-old played regularly for the Dons last season as he made 41 appearances scoring 12 times and assisting five times in those games.

However, despite Sunderland being interested in the player, a report from the South London Press has claimed that the Black Cats have had a bid for the player rejected by Wimbledon.

The report claims that the valuation of his current club has not yet been met and therefore he will be remaining at AFC Wimbledon as it stands.

Sunderland will face competition for this signing with fellow Championship side Huddersfield Town amongst others having also had bids rejected so far this summer.

Ross Stewart

Stewart came out of last season as the club’s top scorer and therefore it comes as no surprise that there has been interest in him this summer.

The striker was able to find the back of the net 26 times in all competitions last season and with the Scotsman’s current deal with the club expiring next summer, they could be under some pressure to sell him this summer.

However, the Daily Record have reported that the Black Cats are prepared to offer their player more money in order to get him to sign a new contract with them and ease the interest coming from elsewhere.

This has been going on for a while now so whether he will sign a new contract with Sunderland is yet to be seen but if he doesn’t, the club will be under pressure to consider potential offers for him this summer.