Sunderland are lastly again within the Championship after spending 4 years down within the third division of English soccer after their relegation within the 2017/18 marketing campaign.
The membership received promotion to the second tier in 2021/22 as Alex Neil got here in halfway by the season and helped them to go up through the play-offs, beating Wycombe 2-0 within the remaining at Wembley.
Their work within the switch market performed an enormous position of their success as they introduced in a lot of gifted gamers to spice up their possibilities of discovering a approach out of League One.
One participant the Black Cats performed a masterclass with was the signing of Ross Stewart from Premiership facet Ross County in January 2021.
Then-manager Lee Johnson tipped him for large issues, saying: “Ross is a participant that shall be nice for us within the quick time period, however he also can develop and enhance over the long run. He’s at a very good age, he’s very match and fast, and he clearly has good peak as nicely, so he has all attributes to succeed.”
Sunderland paid a reported payment of £300k to land the Scottish striker and he had a reasonably low-key begin to life in England as he scored three objectives in 12 League One appearances in the course of the second half of the 2020/21 marketing campaign.
The centre-forward then kicked on after settling into life south of the border by setting the third tier alight in 2021/22 as he fired the Black Cats to promotion.
He scored a whopping 26 objectives in 49 appearances as he averaged a elegant SofaScore ranking of seven.25 – the best within the Sunderland squad. His objectives had been essential in them securing their place within the Championship, scoring two objectives of their three play-off matches – together with within the remaining in opposition to the Chairboys.
Since making the step as much as the second tier, Stewart – who teammate Alex Pritchard dubbed “unbelievable” – has confirmed that he has what it takes to carry out at the next degree.
Will Stewart depart Sunderland subsequent yr?
Sure
No
This season, the Scotland worldwide has scored 5 objectives and assisted three in seven outings, averaging a SofaScore ranking of seven.66 – a rating solely Olivier Norwood of Sheffield United (7.68) can higher in your complete division.
On the time of writing (25/09/22), Transfermarkt worth the striker at £3.15m. Because of this they worth him at a whopping 950% greater than what the Black Cats initially paid to signal him from Ross County in 2021.
His value rocketing over the previous 18 months or so illustrates how a lot of a masterstroke his signing has been and Sunderland deserve full credit score for recognizing him. They may now be hoping, along with his contract expiring in 2023, that he enjoys many extra profitable seasons on Wearside.
