After yet another season of despair and disappointment, Sunderland have now fallen to the League One in England and are in serious danger of regressing further. They have decided to hand Jack Ross the responsibility to take them back up the ladder once again and the 42-year old has been busy this summer, trying to improve the squad.
The Tyneside outfit still remains one of the strongest teams in the lower tiers in the country but they will quickly have to find a solution to the issues that have been dragging them down. Ross is desperate to add some quality to his first team and will probably rely on players who he has watched closely. One such player now on Sunderland’s radar is Stevie Mallan.
Born and brought up in Glasgow, the 22-year old broke into the Scottish U21 side just last year and has five caps for the national side. He started his youth career at St Mirren, Jack Ross being the manager that gave him a chance in the senior side. He was one of the most consistent players in the season before the last, scoring six goals in the last 10 games, to take the Buddies to Championship safety that season.
However, he was snapped up by English club Barnsley last summer, where he was expected to make an immediate impact. A central midfielder by trait, Mallan is a quick and strong midfielder, who loves to control the game. He is comfortable with the ball at his feet, can put in a shift as a wing-back and is also effective in a slightly attacking role.
But his ability to make interceptions in dangerous areas and his vision to set up his team on counters was pretty effective for St Mirren and though he failed to replicate the same at Barnsley, is more than a smart addition for Sunderland. He is also a specialist over a dead ball and is a smart addition for the Black Cats.
He has 18 goals and 19 assists in 68 Championship outings in Scotland and it is understood that he has offers from the likes of the Hibs, who look to take him back to his home country. However, reports suggest that Jack Ross is determined to land Mallan this summer.
The Black Cats have allowed Jack Rodwell to leave the club while Paddy McNair, who played as a midfielder last season, has also left this summer. Lee Cattermole, Didier Ndong and George Honeyman remain the only midfield options at the club as they have also decided to suspend Darron Gibson late last season.
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So Ross does need a midfield addition to his squad this summer and signing Mallan, who he has worked with previously, makes a lot of sense.
