Opinion: Sunderland must weigh-up controversial summer transfer decision involving Ross Stewart | OneFootball

Sunderland have managed to make the jump up to the Championship quite successfully.

Despite losing Alex Neil on sudden notice in late August, the club acted swiftly to bring Tony Mowbray in as manager.

The seamless nature of his taking over of the first team squad is a testament to the 59-year old’s experience and skill as a manager.

But it is also a sign of how well the club is now being run, that it could react to such a setback so swiftly and decisively.

It is with that in mind that some confidence should be taken going into the summer transfer window.

While the January period was somewhat disappointing, factors outside of their control meant it was always going to be tough.

The departure of Ellis Simms and the injury to Ross Stewart gave the Black Cats a lot of work to do before last week’s deadline.

That the club secured the signing of Joe Gelhardt despite such competition highlights the potential the club possesses and what prospective signings think of the direction of travel at the Stadium of Light relative to their Championship rivals.

But it will be the future of Stewart that is most up in the air this summer.

Sunderland have another year on the forward’s contract, but previous transfer speculation indicates that it could be a tussle to keep the talisman beyond the current season.

Premier League sides such as Crystal Palace and Brentford have been linked with a possible move for the Sunderland striker.

Quiz: Are these 20 Sunderland facts real or fake?

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Sunderland changed managers this season

Real Fake

Given the injury issues that Stewart has faced this season, perhaps it will be the right time to cash-in on the Scot this summer.

Stewart has only managed 13 league appearances for the Black Cats, much to the frustration of supporters.

A tally of 10 goals in 11 starts shows how good he is, and what kind of value he could’ve brought to the team if he’d remained fit.

However, that a top six finish is still very possible without him shows that an eight-figure sum could be used to get the team into real promotion contention.

While obviously an impressive player and a key figure, cashing-in makes the most sense given how successful the recruitment strategy of the team has been of late.

If that kind of money can be reinvested back into the squad then the club will be in a stronger position for it.

Because the risk of keeping him only for more injuries occuring in his final year could be too costly for Sunderland to gamble with.