Sunderland are facing a battle to keep hold of consistent performer Luke O’Nien amid reported interest from several Championship clubs.
O’Nien is one of four players out-of-contract who have been offered a new deal at the Stadium of Light alongside Aiden McGeady, Denver Hume and Charlie Wyke, but with offers elsewhere it remains to be seen whether he will stay.
The versatile midfielder, who has been utilised at both right-back and centre-back, has been one of Sunderland’s more consistent performers since his arrival from Wycombe Wanders in 2018 and the club are hopeful he will sign a new deal.
With reported interest from Preston North End, Millwall, Luton and Middlesbrough, he is unlikely to be short of options if he chooses to take on a new challenge.
The Black Cats want an answer from the player as soon as possible, with sporting director Kristjaan Speakman reiterating his desire to get the issue sorted as soon as possible.
“We’ve been in discussions with those guys and their representatives and it is always going to be a difficult period because they are players who have done well for us, hence we want to re-engage them,” Speakman said.
“But then because they have done well for Sunderland, there are other people who have seen that and would also be interested in them.
“It’s going to be a piece of work where we want to reduce the timeline as quickly as possible, and that helps us with our platform in terms of where we are going and who we might be looking at in the future.
“We feel that they can all contribute to the Sunderland of the future, and therefore hopefully we will be able to get them over the line.”
Sunderland are heading for a fourth straight season in League One following their play-off semi-final defeat to Lincoln City and Lee Johnson will want to reshape his side ahead of another promotion push in 2021/22.