Sunderland are set to embark on their first Championship campaign since the 2017/18 season and will be looking to avoid relegation at the first attempt.

Alex Neil and Kristjaan Speakman will be working hard to improve the squad in the coming weeks and months in order to give themselves the best chance of competing in the second tier.

One player who has been tipped to make a move to the Stadium of Light is young Tottenham centre-forward Troy Parrott, who spent last season on loan at MK Dons in League One.

Former Black Cats striker Stephen Elliott has suggested that a move to Wearside would suit the 20-year-old, saying: "For him to keep improving, he needs to move himself up a level. I think somewhere like Sunderland - they need a couple of strikers - they've got Ross Stewart there at the moment but he could do with a little help in there.

"I think if Troy Parrott came to Sunderland, I think he'd embrace playing for a club like that with the big crowds, the atmosphere at the games and that feeling of doing well there and thriving there. He looks like the type of player that thrives on playing on the big occasion and I think it could be a really good move."

Sunderland's own Harry Kane

By securing a deal for Parrott, either on loan or permanently, Speakman can find the club's own version of the England captain.

The obvious links between the two players are that they are both Tottenham academy graduates who play up front and both spent time on loan at Millwall early in their respective careers.

Along with that, they are both strikers who are equally capable of scoring and assisting goals from the number nine position.

In the 2020/21 campaign, Kane won the Golden Boot and the Playmaker award in the Premier League with 23 goals and 14 assists. Meanwhile, Parrott has just enjoyed an impressive year out on loan with MK Dons in League One as he offered a glimpse of what he can be capable of at a higher level.

Keith Andrews said that the youngster is "flying" with Ireland at international level. The striker has three goals in 13 matches for the Boys in Green so far, which shows that he can handle the pressure of playing for his country.

At the age of 20, the £7k-per-week gem is in the early stages of his career and has the potential to develop further and hit higher numbers with his contributions in the final third.

Sunderland must now act on Elliott's advice and swoop for the youngster, who has been dubbed "incredible" by compatriot and former MK Dons team-mate Connor Coventry, as he can develop into the Black Cats' own version of Kane - scoring and creating goals in equal measure in the Championship.

AND in other news, Speakman eyeing SAFC deal for "top quality" £33k-p/w wizard, imagine him & Pritchard...