Glasgow Rangers have been handed a boost in their pursuit of Ross Stewart ahead of the January transfer window.
What's the talk?
That's according to Keith Downie, with the Sky Sports reporter revealing in a recent post on Twitter that, despite the fact that the centre-forward is settled and happy to stay at Sunderland, contract talks between the 26-year-old and the club are now believed to have reached an impasse, with the Championship side said to be willing to cash in on the striker this winter.
This is sure to come as a huge boost to Ross Wilson and Michael Beale, with Downie revealing in a further post on Twitter that Rangers, as well as Middlesbrough, Blackburn Rovers, Stoke City, Crystal Palace and Brentford, are keeping a close eye on the situation of the £10m valued hitman ahead of launching a potential move in the January market.
In his posts, the Sky Sports reporter said: "Stewart is settled at Sunderland and wants to stay, but talks over a new contract have reached an impasse. Other clubs offering significantly more in wages & SAFC could cash in on him now.
"Middlesbrough are showing the strongest interest from a clutch of clubs wanting to sign Sunderland striker Ross Stewart. Stewart could leave in January with Blackburn & Stoke among a number of Championship clubs - plus Rangers - keen. Premier League duo Crystal Palace & Brentford also monitoring."
"Exceptional"
Considering just how impressive Stewart has been for Sunderland in recent years, should Wilson be able to fend off a number of Premier League and Championship clubs in the race to sign the 26-year-old in January, it would undoubtedly represent an exceptional coup for the sporting director and Rangers.
Indeed, over his nine Championship appearances in the current campaign, the £3.1m-rated talent has been in devastating attacking form, having already scored seven goals, registered three assists and created one big chance, in addition to taking an average of 3.6 shots - 1.8 of which have hit the target - making 0.8 key passes and completing 0.7 dribbles per game.
These returns have seen the player who journalist and Mackems supporter Josh Bunting dubbed a "key asset" average a breathtaking Sofascore match rating of 7.57, not only ranking him by far and away as Tony Mowbray's best performer in the league but also as the second-best player in the English second-tier as a whole.
It was a similar story over Stewart's 49 League One fixtures in 2021/22, with the £2.3k-per-week hitman bagging a whopping 26 goals, providing three assists and creating nine big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.8 shots - 1.2 of which hit the target - making 1.3 key passes and completing 0.5 dribbles per match.
These metrics saw the 26-year-old who former Sunderland goalkeeper David Preece labelled "exceptional" average an extremely impressive Sofascore match rating of 7.25, once again ranking him as the Black Cats' best performer in the division, as well as the joint 11th-best player in the third tier in its entirety.
As such, it is clear for all to see that the Scotland international would undoubtedly represent a fantastic addition to Beale's current attacking arsenal at Ibrox, leading us to believe that Wilson must do everything in his power to win the race for the centre-forward's signature in January.