Sunderland confirm big Ross Stewart contract situation heading into 2023/24 season

Sunderland have revealed that Ross Stewart is under contract for the 2023/24 season.

As confirmed by the club’s official website, Stewart is currently on course to represent the Black Cats again in the Championship later this year.

Stewart’s previous deal with the club was set to expire at the end of June.

However, Sunderland did have the option to trigger a 12-month extension due to a clause included in this contract.

Earlier this year, a report from the Chronicle Live suggested that the Black Cats had decided to activate this option.

It has now been confirmed by Sunderland that Stewart will indeed remain at the Stadium of Light.

How did Ross Stewart fare in the Championship during the 2022/23 campaign?

Stewart initially made a fantastic start to the 2022/23 campaign as he scored five goals and provided three assists in seven league appearances.

Unfortunately for the forward, he sustained a hamstring injury in September which forced him to watch on from the sidelines until December.

The Scotland international marked his return to action by scoring against Hull City.

Stewart went on to find the back of the net in four of his next five league appearances before suffering an issue with his Achilles during the club’s FA Cup clash with Fulham.

Due to the severity of this issue, the forward missed the remainder of the season.

In the absence of Stewart, Sunderland sealed a place in the play-offs earlier this month,

Tony Mowbray’s side were eliminated from this competition by Luton Town, who sealed a 3-2 aggregate victory in the semi-finals.

Luton are set to face Coventry City at Wembley Stadium tomorrow, with the winner of this showdown clinching a place in the Premier League.

Mowbray recently revealed that Stewart is on course to participate in Sunderland’s pre-season program.

Providing that the forward does not suffer any further injury setbacks in the 2023/24 campaign, he will fancy his chances of spearheading a push for automatic promotion.

When he was fit enough to feature in the most recent campaign, Stewart demonstrated that he is capable of setting the Championship alight.

Taking his impressive performances into consideration, it would not be at all surprising if the 26-year-old goes on to score on a regular basis later this year.

Sunderland will need to draft in some competition for Stewart this summer, as they are set to be short of options in this particular area of the pitch when Joe Gelhardt returns to his parent-club Leeds United at the end of May.