Sunderland are showing serious interest in FC Sochaux striker Eliezer Mayenda, according to reports in France.
What's the latest news on Ross Stewart's contract?
Kristjaan Speakman and the Black Cats have been pretty open with fans when it comes to Ross Stewart’s future. The club’s star striker, who’s bagged 40 goals and eight assists in 80 appearances on Wearside, has struggled with injuries in recent times and is also attracting interest from elsewhere as his contract ticks down into its final 12 months.
"We're not getting into whether we've had bids," Speakman told The Athletic. "That's our private business.
"The situation is no different to where we have been: we are really keen to retain Ross and everything from his camp is that he'd like to stay.
"But we haven't got to an agreement that both parties would like to sign off. Externally that can seem strange, but we don’t think it is – Dennis Cirkin re-signed last week and we have been speaking to him about his contract for maybe six months."
Rangers, Middlesbrough, Blackburn Rovers, Stoke City, Crystal Palace and Brentford were all said to be keen on Stewart back in January, while it is apparently Stoke City and Luton Town that Sunderland fans will need to worry about now, as per Football League World.
And it looks like work has started on finding some young players who can eventually take over from Stewart, whether that is this summer or further down the line, after Portuguese starlet Luis Semedo was brought in early on in the transfer window, and there is now interest in another youngster.
According to Foot Mercato in France, the Black Cats are “very interested” in Sochaux star Mayenda, an 18 year-old Spain youth international.
The teenager, who has dual citizenship in Spain and France, is under contract until 2025, but with his club going through a “terrible descent into hell” he could now “slip away and discover the Championship”.
Indeed, Sochaux are going through something not overly dissimilar to what Sunderland fans endured a few years back, as this once top flight club has been demoted down the divisions via an “administrative relegation” due to financial crisis.
Many of their rising talents and best players have left the club and more are expected to follow, claim Foot Mercato, which is where Sunderland’s interest in Mayenda comes in.
Who is Eliezer Mayenda?
The teenager looks like he could be an exciting addition alongside Semedo, with the Black Cats perhaps banking on the fact that if even one of them fulfils their potential they could have a real star on their hands in the second tier.
Mayenda hasn’t got the best goalscoring record you’ll ever see, bagging only once during his first full season in Ligue 2, but his performances have been good enough to earn him three caps for Spain’s Under-17 side.
Of course, the ideal scenario for Tony Mowbray is Stewart stays put, Mayenda signs, and the boss has a recognised number nine to allow his two new youngsters to learn from. If the Scotland star goes, one would have to assume the club will splash out for a more senior addition alongside the likes of Semedo and Mayenda.
