Bali Mumba made a handful of first-team appearances for Sunderland last season.
Mumba made a handful of first-team appearances for Sunderland last term, and is considered to be one of the brightest talents in their group.
However, the 17-year-old has been training with the under-23’s for much of pre-season.
And Ross wants Mumba to develop away from the senior squad at Sunderland, as he felt he was unfair on him last term.
“At the moment, we’ve had him in the 23s for most of pre-season,” Ross said.
“Part of the reason is that I would like him to because last season we were a bit unfair to him because he was needed in and around the first team, and also positionally he’d be playing a lot of different roles for the 23s.
“He still comes over with me sometimes and it’s not ruling him out of that, and then maybe at the end of the year, we look at it and see if he’s around us or whether he goes out on loan.”
Whether Mumba will be able to break back into Sunderland’s first-team plans remains to be seen.
The youngster showed flashes of quality for the Black Cats last term, but still has work to do if he is to develop into a regular starter.
If Mumba is placed on the loan list then Sunderland are unlikely to struggle to find a suitor, as he possesses a lot of qualities which could make him a threat for a club in a lower division.
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