Sunderland have been dealt a further blow in their bid to bring Jordan Jones back to the Stadium of Light this summer.

What's the talk?

That's according to a report by Football League World, who claim that Ipswich Town have moved ahead of Sunderland in the race for the Glasgow Rangers winger, with Wigan Athletic also thought to be keen on a move for the 26-year-old.

An earlier report had already claimed that the Black Cats could struggle to get a deal over the line for their former loanee, as Steven Gerrard is hoping to move Jones on permanently this summer, with Lee Johnson's side looking unlikely to be able to afford Gers' asking price for the forward.

Big miss

With Jones being one of Sunderland's stand out performers during his loan spell at the club last season, missing out on the winger's signing this summer would be a devastating blow for Johnson.

Indeed, over his 20 League One appearances for the Mackems last term - with only 12 of these coming as starts - the £540k-rated man bagged three goals, provided four assists and created two big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.6 shots and making 1.9 key passes per game.

These metrics saw the player Steven Gerrard dubbed a "real threat" earn a highly impressive average SofaScore match rating of 7.08, ranking him as Johnson's fifth-best player in the third tier of English football.

As such, should Kyril Louis-Dreyfus be unable to secure the signing of the 26-year-old once again this summer, it would be a huge opportunity missed for the Black Cats, with the owner having to turn his attention regarding attacking additions in the summer transfer market elsewhere.

Furthermore, should Jones go on to sign for one of Sunderland's likely promotion rivals in Ipswich or Wigan, the possibility of the winger's goals having a direct impact on the Mackems' promotion chances would seem very real indeed.

In other news: Alan Nixon drops two-word Sunderland transfer update that will have fans buzzing