Sunderland managed to make their way back into the Championship last season after beating Wycombe Wanderers in the League One play-off final.

One player in the Black Cats' squad that certainly played a significant part in getting the club promoted last season was Ross Stewart.

With 49 league appearances to his name, including the play-offs, the Scotsman scored 26 goals and supplied five assists for his teammates.

To further highlight his attacking prowess, only Will Keane (26) scored more league goals than Stewart (24) prior to the play-offs.

Now that the 2022/23 Championship season is approaching, this current period could give Alex Neil the chance to make sure his squad has enough strength and depth in it to make sure the club won't find themselves back in League One at the first opportunity.

One figure that the Wearside club have been linked with recently that would give Neil the chance to form what could be a scary duo alongside Stewart is Tottenham Hotspur striker Troy Parrott.

Earlier this month, it was reported that Sunderland are one of the clubs interested in signing the 20-year-old on loan this summer.

Having joined Spurs' youth ranks back in 2017, the striker has gone on to make 42 appearances for the north London club across their senior and youth sides.

In those appearances, the youngster has scored 31 goals and provided six assists along the way.

The centre-forward has also spent time away from Tottenham on loan with clubs such as Millwall, Ipswich Town and MK Dons.

With 119 club appearances to his name throughout his career at senior and youth levels, the Irishman has 43 goals and 14 assists under his belt in total.

During his time with the Dons last term, the Spurs starlet found the net ten times and delivered seven assists in 47 appearances.

This backs up why he was hailed by Liam Manning as being a "massive" player for the club.

Given the clear attacking talent he has, playing in a Sunderland team next to Stewart could not only be massively beneficial for Parrott in terms of his development to learn from such a capable striker like the Scotsman, but it could also give the Black Cats a massive boost to their chances of having a successful season in the Championship.

AND in other news: Sunderland can replicate Roberts masterclass by signing "wonderful" 20-goal wizard