Sunderland have opened talks with Elliot Embleton regarding an extension to his current contract at the Stadium of Light.

What's the talk?

That's according to a report by The Sun (via Chronicle Live), who claim that the Black Cats are keen to tie the central midfielder down to a new deal, despite the fact the club have the option to extend the 22-year-old's current contract, which expires at the end of the season, for a further year.

However, it is believed that, in order to best secure the academy product's future on Wearside, Lee Johnson would much rather extend Embleton's current contract for a number of years rather than simply activating the club's clause.

Fans will be buzzing

Considering just how impressive Embleton has been for Sunderland so far this season, the fact that the club appear to be extremely keen to tie the midfielder down to a new deal is sure to have left fans buzzing.

Indeed, over his seven League One appearances this term, the £4.3k-per-week man has scored two goals, registered three assists and has created two big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.1 shots and making 2.7 key passes per game.

These returns have seen the player Max Power dubbed a "nightmare" for defenders average a highly impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.14, ranking him as Johnson's second-best performer in the third tier.

As such, it will hardly come as a surprise to Sunderland fans that the club are making moves to award the former England U20 international a new deal, as not only does Embleton appear to have the potential to be able to play a major role for the Black Cats in the years to come, the youngster could also be one of the main men in the club's bid to finally end their spell in League One this season.

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