Lee Cattermole was expected to leave League One Sunderland for Hull City in the summer transfer window but remains at the Stadium of Light.
After years of staggering decline under Ellis Short, Sunderland look a stable and steady club again with Stewart Donald at the helm.
Sunderland have money to spend again after barely spending a penny as they were relegated from the Championship last season and in Jack Ross, the Black Cats can call upon one of the most highly-rated young managers in the Football League.
As it stands, Sunderland are three points adrift at the top of League One with a game in hand too, meaning a promotion push is certainly on the cards.
And, according to The Chronicle, the Wearside club have just been given a timely boost surrounding the future of Lee Cattermole.
The experienced midfielder is the highest earning player in Sunderland’s squad and he looked set to be sold in the summer with Hull City heavily linked. But since that move collapsed, according to his wage demands apparently, Cattermole has got his head down and established himself as a key player for Ross.
And, despite his hefty contract, the Chronicle claims that Donald does not believe Cattermole will go in the New Year – though the futures of fellow high-earners Bryan Oviedo and Aiden McGeady are still up in the air.
Cattermole has made 12 League One starts this season and scored three goals, making 2018/19 already the most prolific campaign of his entire career.
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