Sunderland manager Tony Mowbray has provided a new update on Ross Stewart’s future. The striker, who has been linked with Rangers in recent months, has a contract that expires at the end of this season and he has yet to put pen to paper on a new deal.

Asked whether there had been any progress in terms of tying down the 26-year-old for the long term, Mowbray replied:

“All the noise going around him, I can’t really affect that. I just try to keep the relationship strong so he knows how important he is to our team and club. It’s not my role to put a gun to his head and say, ‘You have to sign this contract’.”

“The bottom line is that himself, his agent and the club will be in discussions about those things, and fingers crossed we get to a conclusion where he signs and stays here because he sees this as an amazing vehicle to progress his career in the right direction and help this club prosper at the same time.”

Stewart was reportedly a key target for the Gers last summer, although it is believed that the Old Firm club’s interest in the forward has faded since then.

Even so, with Alfredo Morelos seemingly no closer to committing his future to the team, and manager Michael Beale keen to add more firepower upfront, a move for Stewart could be reconsidered.

After bagging 26 goals for Sunderland as he helped the Black Cats to promotion from League One last season, the forward also started this campaign in great form, hitting the back of the net five times in seven matches before sustaining a thigh injury.